Employment status: employee, worker or self-employed

In UK employment law there are three main kinds of working relationship: employee, worker and self-employed. Which one you are decides which rights you have. Employees have the most, including protection from unfair dismissal, statutory notice and redundancy pay. Workers have a core set, such as the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday and protection from discrimination. People who are genuinely self-employed, running their own business, have very few employment rights.

Your status depends on how the work actually happens, not on what your contract calls you. Someone described as a “contractor” or “freelancer” can still be a worker or an employee in law. Zero-hours contracts are not a separate status: someone on a zero-hours contract is usually a worker, and sometimes an employee. This guide covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own employment law.

The three statuses

Employee

Section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 defines an employee as someone who works under a contract of employment, which can be written, spoken or implied. GOV.UK says someone is probably an employee if most of these apply:

• they are required to work regularly unless on leave;
• they have to do a minimum number of hours and expect to be paid for time worked;
• a manager or supervisor is responsible for their workload;
• they cannot send someone else to do the work;
• they get paid holiday, and contractual or Statutory Sick Pay;
• they can join the business’s pension scheme;
• the business provides materials and equipment;
• they work at the business’s premises or an address it specifies.

Worker

Workers are a wider group. Section 230 covers anyone who agrees to do work or services personally for another party who is not their client or customer in a business they run. GOV.UK says someone is generally a worker if:

• they have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward;
• they have only a limited right to send someone else to do the work;
• their employer has to have work for them for as long as the contract or arrangement lasts;
• they are not doing the work as part of their own limited company.

All employees are also workers, so employees get worker rights plus extra ones.

Self-employed

GOV.UK says someone is likely self-employed if most of these apply: they bid or quote for work, are not under direct supervision, invoice for their work, pay their own tax and National Insurance, do not get holiday or sick pay, and their contract uses terms like “self-employed” or “consultant”. The genuinely self-employed are running their own business and the people they work for are their clients.

What rights each status has

This table summarises the main rights described by GOV.UK and Acas on 2 October 2026. Some employee rights need a minimum period of service. For the self-employed, GOV.UK lists only health and safety protection, protection from discrimination in some cases, and whatever their client contract gives them.

Right	Employee	Worker	Self-employed
National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage	Yes	Yes	No
Paid holiday (5.6 weeks a year for most)	Yes	Yes	No
Rest breaks and 48-hour average week	Yes	Yes	Generally no
Protection from discrimination	Yes	Yes	In some cases
Whistleblowing protection	Yes	Yes	Generally no
Payslips	Yes	Yes	No
Health and safety protection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Statutory notice	Yes	No	No
Unfair dismissal protection	Yes (2 years’ service for dismissals ending before 1 January 2027)	No	No
Statutory redundancy pay	Yes (2 years’ service)	No	No
Right to request flexible working	Yes	No	No
Time off for emergencies	Yes	No	No

GOV.UK lists Statutory Sick Pay and statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay among employee rights, and says workers may also be entitled to some statutory payments. Whether you qualify depends on the specific rules for each, which our sick pay and family leave guides cover.

Everyone who works, employee or worker, is entitled to a written statement of their main terms from their first day. See employment contracts.

Reality, not labels

The Supreme Court decided Uber v Aslam in February 2021. It held that Uber drivers were workers, despite contracts that described them as independent contractors. The court said tribunals must look at the reality of the relationship, and that the true agreement often has to be worked out from all the circumstances. Important factors included how much control the company had over fares, contract terms, the way the work was done and the drivers’ ratings.

If you are told you are self-employed, it can help to ask:

• Do I have to do the work myself, or could I send someone else?
• Who decides how, when and where I work, and what I am paid?
• Can I turn down work without consequences?
• Am I running my own business, with my own clients and financial risk?
• Am I treated like the staff around me?

Tax status is a separate question

GOV.UK says HMRC may treat someone as self-employed for tax even if their status is different in employment law. HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool is for tax only, so a CEST result does not settle your employment rights.

Zero-hours contracts

A zero-hours contract means your employer does not have to offer you a minimum number of hours, and Acas says you do not have to accept work offered. Acas stresses that your rights depend on whether you are a worker or an employee, not on the zero-hours label.

On 2 October 2026, people on zero-hours contracts are entitled to at least:

• the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage;
• statutory paid holiday;
• rest breaks;
• protection from discrimination;
• payslips.

Your employer cannot stop you working for other employers. GOV.UK says you can ignore a contract term that bans you from looking for or accepting other work, and Acas says the same protection applies to workers whose average weekly income is below the lower earnings limit of £129 a week. Acas also notes that statutory redundancy pay does not apply to people on zero-hours contracts unless they are employees.

What is due to change

The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes a right to guaranteed hours, and rights to reasonable notice of shifts and payment for shifts cancelled or cut at short notice. These are not in force on 2 October 2026. The government’s timeline lists them for 2027, saying timings will be updated after consultation. The timeline also lists regulation of umbrella companies for 2027.

How status disputes are decided

There is no standalone application to have your status decided. It is usually decided by an employment tribunal as part of a claim for a right that depends on it, such as holiday pay, the minimum wage, unlawful deductions or unfair dismissal. You must notify Acas for early conciliation first. For problems on or after 1 October 2026, most tribunal claims have a time limit of six months less a day.

What to check in your contract or letter

• What the contract calls you: employee, worker, contractor, consultant or freelancer.
• A substitution clause saying you can send someone else, and whether that ever happens in practice.
• Whether you must accept work, and what happens if you turn it down.
• Control: who sets your hours, location, methods and rates of pay.
• A minimum hours or zero-hours term.
• An exclusivity clause stopping you working for others.
• How you are paid: through payroll with a payslip, by invoice, or through an umbrella company.
• Holiday and sick pay terms, or the absence of them.
• Notice terms, and whether either side can end it at any time.
• Your written statement of employment particulars, and whether you received one on day one.

When to speak to a solicitor

Status disputes turn on detailed facts. It can help to speak to a solicitor if you have been treated as self-employed but work like a member of staff, if you have lost a job and been told you have no rights, or if a claim for holiday pay or the minimum wage depends on your status.

Common questions

What is the difference between an employee and a worker?

Both do work personally for someone else. An employee works under a contract of employment, usually with regular work, set hours and close control by a manager. A worker has a looser arrangement but still has to do the work personally and is not running their own business. Workers get core rights such as the minimum wage and paid holiday; employees also get unfair dismissal protection, notice and redundancy pay.

My contract says I am self-employed. Does that settle it?

No. In Uber v Aslam in 2021, the Supreme Court held that tribunals must look at the reality of the working relationship, not just the written terms. The drivers in that case were found to be workers despite contracts describing them as independent contractors. Factors included how much control the company had over pay, terms and how the work was done.

What rights do I have on a zero-hours contract?

Whether you are a worker or an employee, you are entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, payslips and protection from discrimination. Your employer cannot stop you working for someone else; a clause that tries to is unenforceable. If you are an employee, you may have further rights such as notice. New rights to guaranteed hours and shift notice are planned for 2027, but are not yet law.

Can HMRC treat me differently from an employment tribunal?

Yes. GOV.UK says HMRC may regard someone as self-employed for tax purposes even if they have a different status in employment law. HMRC's online Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool deals with tax only. An employment tribunal decides status for employment rights, and the tests are not identical.

How do I challenge my employment status?

Usually by bringing a claim for a right that depends on status, such as holiday pay, the minimum wage or unfair dismissal, and asking the tribunal to decide your status as part of it. You must contact Acas for early conciliation first. For problems on or after 1 October 2026, most tribunal claims have a time limit of six months less a day.

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Employment status: worker checked Fri Oct 02
2. GOV.UK: Employment status: employee checked Fri Oct 02
3. GOV.UK: Employment status: self-employed and contractor checked Fri Oct 02
4. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 230 (employee and worker definitions) checked Fri Oct 02
5. Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 (National Archives Find Case Law) checked Fri Oct 02
6. GOV.UK: Zero-hour contracts checked Fri Oct 02
7. Acas: Zero-hours contracts checked Fri Oct 02
8. Acas: Terms restricting a worker's actions (updated 1 July 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
9. GOV.UK: Written statement of employment particulars checked Fri Oct 02
10. GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act, timeline update (updated 25 September 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
11. GOV.UK: National minimum wage: who gets the minimum wage checked Fri Oct 02
12. Acas: Redundancy pay (who does not qualify) checked Fri Oct 02
13. Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
14. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 108 (two-year qualifying period) checked Fri Oct 02

This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.