The definition of 'employee' and 'worker' differs slightly. Generally if rights apply to a 'worker' they also apply to an 'employee'. Employees also have some additional employment rights.
Defining employee status (return to top)
Working with a contract of employment classes people as employees. A contract need not be in writing - it exists when a person and employer agree terms and conditions of employment. A contract will normally set out what a person is expected to do.
Knowing the rights of employees
An employer is obliged by law to deduct Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NIC) from employees salary or wages before paying them. An employee is entitled to all minimum statutory employment rights including:
Defining a worker
This is a broader category than 'employees' but normally excludes those who are self-employed. A worker is any individual who works for an employer, whether under a contract of employment, or any other contract where an individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services. Workers are entitled to core employment rights and protections. The following groups of people are likely to be workers but not employees:
Rights of workers
Providing any other qualifying conditions are met, all workers have rights to:
Temporary agency worker (return to top)
As an agency worker you are usually considered to be a 'worker' rather than an employee. You receive all the same employment rights as a worker, as well as some additional rights to help protect you. All workers, including agency workers, are entitled to the following rights:
Workers, including agency workers are generally not entitled to redundancy pay or to claim unfair dismissal, which are rights available to employees.
Temporary agency workers - contracts of service and employment
A temporary agency worker is unlikely to have a contract of service with a recruitment agency. This means they are not employed by the recruitment agency, but will have an agreement that the recruitment agency will look to find them temporary work. There is no obligation on the agency to find them work or for them to accept it once it is found.
Employment contracts are not generally issued by recruitment agencies to their agency workers.
Temporary agency workers - maternity, paternity and adoption pay
Temporary agency workers sometimes have the right to maternity or paternity pay but not maternity or paternity leave.
Temporary agency workers - statutory sick pay
Temporary agency workers are entitled get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in the same way as can other workers.
Temporary agency workers - paying your tax and National Insurance
There are special rules for agency workers on paying your tax and National Insurance contributions.
Temporary agency workers - benefits
Temporary agency workers are not normally entitled to the same benefits of permanent staff, which will varying according to companies. TempSureTM is a membership club for temporary agency workers which offers a wide range of discounts, benefits and insurance www.tempsure.com for a minimal weekly subscription.
Part-time work (return to top)
Part-time work is often chosen as a way of balancing work and personal commitments. Part-time employers have the right to be treated equally to full-time colleagues.
What is a part-time worker?
A part-time worker is someone who works fewer hours than a full-time worker. There is no specific number of hours that makes someone full or part time, but a full-time worker will usually work 35 hours or more a week.
Choosing part-time work
The reasons for working part time vary from individual to individual. It may be that someone simply wants to have a different work-life balance, or may have caring responsibilities.
Jobsharing
Jobsharing arrangements are a special form of part-time work, where a full-time job is divided between two part-time workers. The job can be divided in a number of ways to best suit everyone's circumstances.
Employment rights of part-time workers
Part-time employees have the same statutory employment rights as other employees. There is no minimum number of hours to be worked to qualify for employment rights.
Agricultural workers (return to top)
Agricultural work includes:
Agricultural worker grade
The minimum wage for an agricultural worker depends on grades. Agricultural workers fall within grades one to six and deciding which grade applies to depends on duties, responsibilities and/or qualifications.
Employment rights
Agricultural workers' rights are set out in the 'Agricultural Wage Order'. Employment contract cannot give less favourable employment terms than the rights set out in the Order.
Agricultural Minimum Wage entitlements if a worker:
Additional entitlements include:
The 'employer' or training provider may contract a worker to carry out additional work on top of the hours covered by the training contract. If the worker does the additional work, they must be paid at the overtime rate for your grade.
Rest breaks
All agricultural workers aged 18 and over are entitled to a rest break when they work more than five-and-a-half hours per day. The break should be 30 minutes long, uninterrupted and spent away from the immediate place of work. The break must not be taken at the beginning or the end of the working day. Rest breaks are unpaid. When trying to calculate the entitlement to rest breaks, 'working time' is:
Guidelines for night work (return to top)
There is extra legal protection for people classed as night workers. However, there are some exceptions.
What is the definition of 'night time'?
'Night' is generally the period between 11.00 pm and 6.00 am, employees agree with their employer to change the night time period. If they do, then it must be at least seven hours long and include the time between midnight to 5.00 am.
Classifying a night time worker
A night time worker regularly works for at least three hours during the night time period either:
Restrictions on night work
A night worker should not work more than an average of eight hours in each 24-hour period. This excludes overtime. A night worker cannot opt out of this night working limit. If a night work involves special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain, they cannot be made to work more than eight hours in any 24-hour period. This is an absolute limit rather than an average limit and includes daytime overtime.
Exceptions to night working time limits
Employees do not have limits on their night working hours if they work in the following areas:
Limits on night work do not apply if:
A night worker in any of these situations, the reference period to calculate their weekly working time limit is extended from 17 to 26 weeks.
Will you receive extra pay if you work at night?
AN employer might decide to reward an employee for working antisocial hours (for example, they may get free transport, food or extra pay). However, an employee only has a legal right to any of these if their contract stipulates it, but it's good practice for employers to offer them.
Health rights as a night worker
As there are health risks linked with night work, an employer must offer an employee a free health assessment (normally a questionnaire) before they start working at night and on a regular basis after that. Generally this is done once a year, but employers could offer a health assessment more frequently. An employee does not have to take the health check offered.
An employer should get help from a suitably qualified health professional when devising and assessing the health assessments. On completion of a health assessment questionnaire if the answers cause concern, the employer should refer the employee to a doctor.
Mobile and road transport workers
Although excluded from other working time protections, mobile and road transport workers who are night workers are entitled to health assessments.
Pregnancy and new mothers
Employees who become pregnant or are a new mother, and are worried about the risks of night time work, should speak to their employer about being moved to daytime work. An employer should give special consideration and conduct a risk assessment.
Classifying homeworkers
Homeworkers have their jobs (usually practical work) based in their home. Teleworkers also do their normal (but usually office-based) work from home. Both kinds of homeworking have potential drawbacks and advantages. Employment rights will depend on whether the homeworker is an employee or if you are self-employed.
Home working (return to top)
A home worker is anyone who only works from home. Many home workers in the UK are employed in manufacturing, making a wide range of items from footwear to car components.
Employment rights for home workers
As a home worker, employment rights depend on the legal status. There are three main categories:
The employment status is not always the same as their tax status.
The National Minimum Wage for home workers
Nearly all workers are entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage rate. If an employer pays by the amount of work produced, rather than by the hour, this is called 'piece work' or 'output' work. However, home workers are still entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate.
Health and safety for home workers
An employer must ensure that their employees are safe whilst working from home
Home workers must be careful when:
All home workers, whether self-employed or employed (especially new and expectant mothers), should take care if working on their own for long periods.
Classifying Tele working (return to top)
The main difference between 'home working' and 'tele working' is that tele workers, who may work full-time from home, are usually doing office work rather than practical work and frequently make use of computers and other electronic devices to do their work and communicate directly with their office base.
Some tele workers spend part of their week working in the office and part working at home. As with home working, their rights will depend on their employment status, but 'employees' should have the same rights as any other 'employees'.
Advantages and disadvantages for tele workers
Advantages include:
Dis-advantages include:
employers are likely to insist that they must inspect employees workstation to make sure it's suitable, meaning they enter the employees home.
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