Am I a ‘worker’ or an ‘employee’?

ACAS states that you are more likely to be classed as a worker if:

• your work for the organisation is more casual, for example your work is less structured or not regular
• you are employed to do the work yourself
• you are not offered regular or guaranteed hours by your employer
• you have very little obligation to make yourself available for work, but should do work you have agreed to and that workers could include:
  • casual workers
  • agency workers
  • freelance workers (however depending on your personal working pattern and circumstance you might be classed as a worker or self-employed)
  • zero-hours contract workers (however depending on your personal working pattern and circumstances you might classed as a worker or an employee).

ACAS goes on to say that you’re more likely to be classed as an employee if:

• your employer, manager or supervisor is in charge of your workload and how your work should be done
• you are required to work regularly unless you’re on leave
• you can expect work to be consistently available
• you cannot refuse to do the work
• you are employed to do the work yourself.