Am I self employes

[frustratedinc]

I have just been sacked from provident as a collection agent for not arranging cover for my holidays. I have worked for them for seven years and have never arranged cover. The managers have always done it. My query is really whether I have a leg to stand on at a tribunal as they say I am self employed but I believe that due to the working conditions I am not. Can anyone help?

 

I was committed to working every Friday and Monday evening for them visiting the same specific customers each week dictated by the office, I had to attend a meeting with my manager each Thursday as well as attending staff training and meetings sporadically throughout the year. I had to text figures to my manager twice a week and return all paperwork at a specific time each week. I do pay my own tax and nat ins but all working tools and requirements were provided by the company. I had to book holidays off and although they did ask for cover to be arranged if you knew anyone it was never made compulsory until the last month or so. As stated I have worked for them for seven years and have never done so.

 

If there are any other questions which would help clear this up please ask.

 

They are also withholding my final salary without explanation and the boss is refusing to return my calls.

[frustratedinc]

I have just been sacked from provident as a collection agent for not arranging cover for my holidays. I have worked for them for seven years and have never arranged cover. The managers have always done it. My query is really whether I have a leg to stand on at a tribunal as they say I am self employed but I believe that due to the working conditions I am not. I believe i am self employed for tax law but an employee in relation to employment law.Can anyone help?

 

I am not my own boss. I work hours dictated by the round given to me by provident and provident dictate my wages. It is compulsory that I attend weekly meetings with my manager and regular training in the provident office. I had no autonomy over the customers I visited or issued loans to and I only used provident equipment and resources to carry out the work. I was also encouraged to take an interest in the success of the managers and company as a whole as I was pressured to sell products which directly related to their bonuses and profits but would not benefit me financially in any way. I was also not given any contract of service from the company. I worked Monday and Friday evenings for them for 7 years but had no terms and conditions.

 

I did not get holiday pay and pay all my own tax and nat ins but I have looked through the Internet and found that in recent cases tribunals have considered the nature of the employment and overruled companies stating that people were employees even where companies stated they were self employed

 

If there are any other questions which would help clear this up please ask.

 

They are also withholding my final salary without explanation and the boss is refusing to return my calls.

[Goldenleaf]

As far as employment law is concerned whether someone is truly an employee, a worker or self-employed will depend on a number of factors and whilst the contract and the fact the person pays their own tax/ni is pretty persuasive, a tribunal will look at the practical realities, including how much control the individual has over the work they perform (the control test), whether they have the right to refuse work (mutuality of obligation) and the unfettered right to send a substitute.

[ashmk]

This is taken from the HMRC website and should answer your question.

 

 

Employed or self-employed?

 

In order to answer this question it is necessary to determine whether the person works under a contract of service (employees) or under a contract for services (self-employed, independent contractor). For tax and NICs purposes, there is no statutory definition of a contract of service or of a contract for services. What the parties call their relationship, or what they consider it to be, is not conclusive. It is the reality of the relationship that matters.

In order to determine the nature of a contract, it is necessary to apply common law principles. The courts have, over the years, laid down some factors and tests that are relevant, which is included in the overview below.

 

As a general guide as to whether a worker is an employee or self-employed; if the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, then the worker is probably an employee:

 

• Do they have to do the work themselves?
  
• Can someone tell them at any time what to do, where to carry out the work or when and how to do it?
  
• Can they work a set amount of hours?
  
• Can someone move them from task to task?
  
• Are they paid by the hour, week, or month?
  
• Can they get overtime pay or bonus payment?
  

If the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, it will usually mean that the worker is self-employed:

 

• Can they hire someone to do the work or engage helpers at their own expense?
  
• Do they risk their own money?
  
• Do they provide the main items of equipment they need to do their job, not just the small tools that many employees provide for themselves?
  
• Do they agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the job may take?
  
• Can they decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services?
  
• Do they regularly work for a number of different people?
  
• Do they have to correct unsatisfactory work in their own time and at their own expense?
  

Source - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employment-status/

 

 

Based on that I would say you are NOT self employed which could mean you have a case. There are employment experts on here (I am not but have had a similar experience) and they will help you soon.

 

Companies like to play the self-empolyed 'card' because they think it gets them out of holiday pay, sick pay etc etc.

[ashmk]

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Edited September 2, 2013 by ashmk

[citizenB]

Threads have now been merged for consistency.