ES/FS1

Employedorselfemployed Moreinformation
Formoreinformationabout

fortaxandNational employmentstatusfortax,NICsand
VAT:

Insurancecontributions goto
www.hmrc.gov.uk/employment
status/index.htm
contactanyHMRCofficeor
Isyouremploymentstatusright? EnquiryCentre.
Thisfactsheetisaboutyouremploymentstatus,atermweusetomeanwhetheryou
NonUnitedKingdom(UK)
areemployedorselfemployed.Itwillhelpyoucheckthatyouremployment
nationals
statusisright.
IfyouareanonUKnationalthere
mightbecertainrestrictionsonhow
Itwillalsohelpyouunderstandtheimportanceofemploymentstatus,asitaffects
youworkintheUK.Formore
thetypeoftaxandNationalInsurancecontributions(NICs)youpayandhowyoupayit.
informationgototheUKBorderAgencyat
Itaffectsyourentitlementtobenefitsandmayaffectyouremploymentrights.
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas
immigration/working/
Youremploymentstatusisnotamatterofchoice
HMRevenue&Customs
Youremploymentstatusisbasedonthetermsandconditionsoftheagreementyou commitment
havewithwhoyouworkfor.Theyareresponsibleformakingsureitiscorrect. Weaimtoprovideahighqualityservice
withguidancethatissimple,clearand
accurate.
Employmentstatusandthelaw
Wewill:
Thelawfortax,NICsandVATdoesntdefineemploymentorselfemployment.
beprofessionalandhelpful
Generally,whenwelookatemploymentstatus,weapplytheprinciplesestablishedby
actwithintegrityandfairness,and
thecourts.Theseprinciplesaregenerallyreferredtoascaselaw.
treatyouraffairsinstrictconfidence
withinthelaw.
However,therearesomespecialrulesthatdonotfollowcaselawprinciples,andapply
Weaimtohandleyouraffairspromptly
tocertainoccupationsandjobs.Someapplytotax,sometoNICsandsometobothif:
andaccuratelysothatyoureceiveor
yourworkisarrangedthroughanagency
payonlytherightamountdue.
youare
acompanydirector,thesecretaryofacluborholdanyotheroffice,inrelationto
Puttingthingsright
yourearningsfromthatoffice

Ifyouarenotsatisfiedwithourservice,
anofficecleaner

pleaseletthepersondealingwithyour
aministerofreligion

affairsknowwhatiswrong.Wewill
anexaminer,moderatororinvigilatorofanexaminingboard

workasquicklyaspossibletoputthings
aschoolteacher,lecturerorinstructor

rightandsettleyourcomplaint.Ifyou
anentertainer

arestillunhappy,askforyourcomplaint
adeepseadiver

tobereferredtotheComplaintsManager.
youworkforsomeoneinyourfamily.

Formoreinformationaboutspecialrulesgoto

www.hmrc.gov.uk/employmentstatus/index.htm#3orcontactanyHMRCofficeor

EnquiryCentre.

Specialrulesalsoapplyifyouareanonpermanent,casualorfreelanceworkerofa
specifiedgradeinthefilmorTVindustry.
Forfilmindustryenquiriesphone01914616167,8.30amto5.00pmMondaytoFriday.
ForTVindustryandradioenquiriesphone01612613254,8.30amto5.00pmMonday
toFriday.

continued>>>

Page1 HMRC09/13
WorkingthroughaCompanyorpartnership Customerswithparticularneeds
Weofferarangeoffacilitiesfor
Youmaychoose,orbeadvised,toprovideyourservicesthroughaCompanyor
customerswithparticularneeds,
partnership.Ifyouprovideyourservicesinthiswaythenyouwillneedtoknowwhether
including:
theIntermediarieslegislation(alsoknownasIR35)orManagedServiceCompany
wheelchairaccesstonearlyall
legislationapplies.
HMRCEnquiryCentres
ForinformationonIntermediarieslegislation,gotowww.hmrc.gov.uk/ir35 orphone helpwithfillinginforms
theHelplineon03002003885,8.30amto5.00pmMondaytoFriday.Forinformation forpeoplewithhearingdifficulties
onManagedServiceCompanylegislation,goto BTTypetalk
www.hmrc.gov.uk/employmentstatus/msc.htmorcontactanyHMRCofficeor Inductionloops.
EnquiryCentre.
Wecanalsoarrangeadditionalsupport,
suchas:
homevisits,ifyouhavelimited
Checkingyouremploymentstatus
mobilityorcaringresponsibilities
Inmostcasesyouremploymentstatuswillbestraightforward.Ingeneralterms,youare andcannotgettooneofour
employedifyouworkforsomeoneanddonthavetherisksofrunningthebusiness. EnquiryCentres
Youareselfemployedifyouareinbusinessforyourselfandareresponsibleforthe servicesofaninterpreter
successorfailureofthatbusiness. signlanguageinterpretation
Tohelpyoucheckyouremploymentstatus,answerthefollowingquestions.Thesealso leafletsinlargeprint,Braille
applyifyouareacasualorparttimeworker.Ifyouhavemorethanonejobthesame andaudio.
questionsapplyforeachjob. Forcompletedetailsplease:
Employed ifyouansweryestomostofthequestionsyouarelikelytobeemployed: goonlineatwww.hmrc.gov.uk/enq or
contactus.Youwillfindusin
Doyouhavetodotheworkyourself?
ThePhoneBookunder
Cansomeonetellyouwheretowork,whentowork,howtoworkorwhattodo?
HMRevenue&Customs.
Cansomeonemoveyoufromtasktotask?
Doyouhavetoworkasetnumberofhours?
Areyoupaidaregularwageorsalary?
Canyougetovertimepayorbonuspayments?
Areyouresponsibleformanaginganyoneelseengagedbythepersonorcompany
thatyouareworkingfor?
Selfemployed ifyouansweryestooneormoreofthequestionsyouarelikely
tobeselfemployed.
Canyouhiresomeonetodothework,ortakeonhelpersatyourownexpense?
Canyoudecidewheretoprovidetheservicesofthejob,whentowork,howtowork
andwhattodo?
Canyoumakealossaswellasaprofit?
Doyouagreetodoajobforafixedpriceregardlessofhowlongthejobmaytake?
Ifyoucantansweryestoanyoftheabovequestions,youarestilllikelytobe
selfemployedifyoucanansweryestomostofthefollowingquestions.
Doyouriskyourownmoney?
Doyouprovidethemainitemsofequipment(notthetoolsthatmanyemployees
provideforthemselves)neededtodothejob?
Doyouregularlyworkforanumberofdifferentpeopleandrequirebusinesssetup
inordertodoso?
Doyouhavetocorrectunsatisfactoryworkinyourowntimeandatyour
ownexpense?

continued>>>

Page2
EmploymentStatusIndicator(ESI)tool
Thequestionsonpage2aregeneralandmaynotcoveryoursituation.Ifthisisthe
case,thenouronlineEmploymentStatusIndicator(ESI)toolmayhelpyou.
Youcanusethistooltogetaviewofyouremploymentstatusforthepurposesoftax
andNICs.Itisfree,easytouseandwillhelpyouworkoutwhetheryouareemployed
orselfemployedinallbutthemostcomplexofcases.Formoreinformationgoto
www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi.htm

Ifyouhavemorethanonejob
Itispossiblethatyoucouldbeemployedandselfemployedatthesametime.

Forexample,youcouldbeemployedasaparttimeshopassistantandspendtherestof

yourtimerunningyourownbusiness,orworkfulltimeasanemployeeandrunyour

ownparttimebusinessintheeveningsandweekends.

Whyemploymentstatusissoimportant
YouremploymentstatusaffectsthetypeoftaxandNICsyoupayandhowyoupayit.
IfyouareemployedyouremployerwillcollecttaxandNICsfromyourpayandpayit
tous.

Ifyouareselfemployedyoumustregisterasselfemployedwithusandpaytaxand
NICstous.YoumayalsoneedtoregisterforVAT.Formoreinformationgoto
www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/index.htm orphonetheVATHelplineon08450109000,
8.30amto5.00pmMondaytoFriday.

Toregisterasselfemployedgotowww.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/index.shtmlor
phonethenewlyselfemployedHelplineon08459154515,8.30amto5.00pm
MondaytoFriday.

Yourentitlementtobenefitsandemploymentrights
Youremploymentstatusaffectsyourentitlementtobenefitsandmayaffectyour
employmentrights.Althoughthecaselawtestsforemploymentstatusapplyequally
toemploymentlaw,thefactthatyouareregardedasemployedorselfemployedfor
tax,NICsandVATpurposesdoesnotnecessarilymeanyouremploymentstatusis
automaticallythesameforotherpurposes.
Forinformationonbenefitsgotowww.dwp.gov.uk
Forinformationonemploymentrightsgoto
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/index.htm

Thesenotesareforguidanceonlyand
reflectthepositionatthetimeofwriting.
Theydonotaffectanyrightofappeal.
Issuedby
HMRevenue&Customs
September2013
Thesenotesareforguidanceonlyandreflectthepositionatthetimeofwriting. Crowncopyright2013
Theydonotaffectanyrightofappeal.

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