Employment rights

Introduction

This section has information about many different kinds of employment rights that apply to staff.

Employment legislation gives more rights to some types of staff than others, depending on the capacity in which they are employed.

For this reason, it's important to understand the differences between them and to know which types of staff you employ – particularly as employment status can sometimes be disputed.

Employees, workers and the self-employed

Your staff can consist of workers, employees, self-employed contractors, partners, directors, paid interns, apprentices and volunteers.

They are all are entitled to certain employment rights through laws created by legislation passed by the government (statutes).

However, there are 3 main categories of working individuals who have employment rights: employees, workers and the self-employed.

Employees have additional rights that don't apply to workers.

Employees

Someone will be classed as an employee if they're working under a contract of employment.

The contract need not be in writing – it exists when you've agreed terms and conditions of employment with them. A contract can also be implied from your actions and those of the person working for you.

For more on this, including the minimum information that an employment contract must contain, see this section.

Rights of employees

Employers must deduct Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions from an employee's pay before they receive it.

Also, provided any qualifying conditions are met, employees have the following statutory rights:

• The right to take various types of statutory family leave (e.g. maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave) and receive a minimum (statutory) level of pay while taking it
• The right to take unpaid time off work to take care of their dependants in an emergency
• The right not to be unfairly dismissed
• The right to receive statutory minimum notice (if their employment is ending)
• The right to receive statutory redundancy pay
• The right to request flexible working arrangements
• All employment rights given to workers (see below).

Note: Though apprentices are classed as employees, they don't have the above employment rights but do have the same rights as workers.

Workers

This is a broader category than employees and will exclude those who are genuinely self-employed.

A worker is an individual who works for an employer under a contract to personally do, or perform, work or services for them.

The following types of staff are likely to be workers, but not employees:

• Agency workers
• Casual workers
• Paid interns

Rights of workers

Provided that any other qualifying conditions are met, all workers have the following rights:

• To be paid the national minimum wage
• To rest breaks, paid holiday and other limits on their working time under the Working Time Regulations
• To a written statement containing the main terms and conditions of their employment
• To be protected against unauthorised deductions from pay
• To be protected against less favourable treatment because they work part-time
• To receive statutory sick pay
• To be protected against less favourable treatment for making a disclosure in the public interest (often called whistleblowing)
• Not to be discriminated or harassed due to a protected characteristic, i.e. sex, marital/civil partnership status, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin), disability, age, religion or belief (or religion or pollical opinion in Northern Ireland), sexual orientation, gender reassignment or pregnancy/maternity
• To have their health and safety protected in the workplace.

Note: new rules expected in October 2026 will give workers in England, Wales and Scotland protection from less favourable treatment related to strike action. See our section on the Employment Rights Act 2025 for more information.

Self-employed

Staff who are registered as self-employed with HMRC for payment of tax will normally be classed as self-employed for employment-rights purposes.

They should not have an employment contract with you. Instead, they should work under another form of contract that usually requires them to provide specific services for a fee during a fixed period of time or until they have completed a specific task. The fee should be paid without any PAYE deductions, as they will be responsible for paying tax and National Insurance Contributions on the income they earn.

Rights of the self employed

Self-employed staff have the following limited employment rights:

• Not to be discriminated against or harassed due to a protected characteristic
• To have their health and safety protected in the workplace.

Working out employment status to determine employment rights

There is no one thing that completely determines the employment status of a staff member. However, it is possible, in some limited cases, to be self-employed for tax purposes, but classified as a worker or an employee for employment-rights purposes.

If there is a dispute about the employment status of a staff member, an Employment Tribunal (Industrial Tribunal in Northern Ireland) will make its decision based on all the circumstances of a case. It may not always consider the same facts that HMRC or courts may do to establish employment status for tax and National Insurance purposes or the terms of a written contract.

The following list sets out the issues a tribunal can investigate when determining someone's employment status. It can be used as a sliding scale with 'employee' at one end and 'genuinely self-employed' at the other.

The more questions you answer Yes to, the more likely the staff member is self-employed. If you answer No to most of the questions, they're likely to be an employee. If you answer Yes to some of the questions (in particular, if they can decide when they will work and can turn down work when offered) they are likely to be a worker, rather than an employee.

However, this is for guidance only and you should get legal advice if you're unsure.

1. Control

The extent the individual staff member:

• Has the final say about how the business is run
• Can choose to do the work themselves or send someone else to do it
• Can choose when and how they will work.

2. Integration

The extent to which the staff member is integrated into the business:

• Are they responsible for hiring other people and setting their terms of employment?
• Are they excluded from internal company matters such as corporate training and staff meetings?
• Are they exempt from having disciplinary action taken against them?
• Are they excluded from any benefits and joining the business's pension scheme?
• Do they work for a range of different employers?

3. Mutuality of obligations

• Do you (the employer) offer work only if and when it is available?
• Can they decide when to work and turn down work when offered?

4. Economic reality

The extent to which the individual bears the financial risk:

• Are they responsible for meeting the losses as well as taking the profits?
• Are they responsible for correcting unsatisfactory work at their own expense?
• Do they have to submit an invoice to you for their pay?
• Do they get a fixed payment for a job (both materials and labour)?
• Do they pay for the equipment needed to do the job?

Employment rights created by statute

Use the on-screen navigation menu to fully explore this section and learn more about the many different employment rights that exist, who they apply to, and how staff qualify for them.

We also have other sections that are relevant to employment rights, specifically those on:

• Minimum contract requirements
• Sick pay
• Health and safety

You can read more what happens when staff feel their rights have been breached in our Grievances section.