0370 270 6000

Search

Search Mobile

collapse

already registered?

Please sign in with your existing account details.

Email address

Password

Sign in with LinkedIn

need to register?

Register to access exclusive content, sign up to receive our updates and personalise your experience on brownejacobson.com.

Privacy statement - Terms and conditions

Register with LinkedIn

Forgotten your password?

collapseSign

Home

Insights & events

Resources

Blogs

When is an employee not an employee?

When is an employee not an employee?

10 June 2011

The Supreme Court’s decision in Autoclenz v Belcher is expected soon. This decision will determine how far employers and those who work for them can dictate, in the contractual documents, whether someone is employed or a contractor.

The consequences are highly significant for businesses, as employees have greater employment protection than contractors.

The current law allows the court to look at the true legal relationship between the parties, how the relationship operates in practice – not just the contractual agreement. Autoclenz is arguing that the nature of the relationship is defined by the agreement – not by its practical operation. The only exception should be where evidence shows that the contractual documents are a sham.

If the Supreme Court agrees with Autoclenz, consultancy agreements may become more common and more people may be made to work with reduced employment protection.

Related opinions

IR35 rules to be scrapped from April 2023

The Chancellor’s recent mini-budget provided a significant announcement for business as it was confirmed that the off-payroll working rules (known as “IR35”) put in place for public and private sector businesses from 2017 and 2021 will be scrapped from April 2023.

Revoking and reforming EU law

The Government has published the Retained EU Revocation and Reform Bill which, if passed, provides for the revocation of all “EU-derived subordinate legislation” (i.e. UK statutory instruments which were introduced to implement EU law) and retained direct EU legislation on 31 December 2023, unless legislation is specifically introduced to save them.

Gender equality

Randstad has published a report on gender equality in the workplace based upon survey responses from 6,000 workers within the construction, education, healthcare and technology sectors. Whilst legislation relating to sex discrimination has been around for over 45 years, nearly three quarters of female workers surveyed reported that they had either experienced or witnessed inappropriate behaviour or comments from male colleagues.

Unfavourable treatment

The Employment Appeal Tribunal’s recent decision in the case of Mr Michael Cowie & Others v Scottish Fire and Rescue Service provides a useful insight into favourable - or unfavourable - treatment in the context of discrimination claims.

View all blogs

Ben Standing

Partner

Mailing list sign up

Select which mailings you would like to receive from us.

Sign up

Quick links

Employment