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Original poster

Tax and Student Summer Work

6 replies

HPFA · 17/07/2025 20:05

My daughter's picking up bits of work over the summer holidays and is now on her fourth employer!

She's done a bit of waitressing from two different apps where you sign up for shifts, six days cleaning for an agency (Adecco) and is now doing a shift as a receptionist for yet another company.

My question is - is there an easy way of telling whether she's being treated as self-employed or as an employee in all these jobs? Would something on the payslip show this?

One of the jobs she was taxed on her first payslip but then her next week's pay the tax was refunded - I'm assuming that was a switch from an emergency tax code to a proper one? So that job at least is presumably PAYE?

Obviously she isn't going to earn anything like enough to go over her personal allowance but I understand if she earns over £1000 in self-employment she has to fill in a tax return?

Hope this doesn't sound too muddled!! I may be worrying over nothing but I really have no experience of the gig economy world having worked for the local council for the last thirty-six years!!

For the moment I've just told her to make absolutely sure she doesn't delete any pay slips.

Any advice gratefully received!

OP posts:
SoMuchLego · 17/07/2025 20:12

Yes she needs to keep her payslips.

She's definitely not self-employed if she is receiving payslips.

She may be an employee (where it is implied that work will always be offered and that she always has to accept it) or a worker (where work may or may not be offered, and where she may or may not accept it under certain conditions) but her employment status (as in employee or worker) is not really relevant - in either of these scenarios, the tax is paid by the employer.

Given that she's had what sounds like a couple of different engagements with a couple of different employers is likely that there is an issue with her tax code. She needs to speak to both/all employers and possibly the tax offices for the respective employers to check that her tax code is correct, and that she's not paying Basic Rate tax by mistake. If she has overpaid any tax it will be refunded.

Bavariamaria · 17/07/2025 20:13

Is she paid by an agency for all the jobs? She should really be PAYE and it's unlikely she's being paid gross. Have a look at her contracts and payslips.

Original poster
HPFA · 17/07/2025 20:51

SoMuchLego · 17/07/2025 20:12

Yes she needs to keep her payslips.

She's definitely not self-employed if she is receiving payslips.

She may be an employee (where it is implied that work will always be offered and that she always has to accept it) or a worker (where work may or may not be offered, and where she may or may not accept it under certain conditions) but her employment status (as in employee or worker) is not really relevant - in either of these scenarios, the tax is paid by the employer.

Given that she's had what sounds like a couple of different engagements with a couple of different employers is likely that there is an issue with her tax code. She needs to speak to both/all employers and possibly the tax offices for the respective employers to check that her tax code is correct, and that she's not paying Basic Rate tax by mistake. If she has overpaid any tax it will be refunded.

Thank you, that's very reassuring.

I think she's a worker - your definition sounds exactly like what she's doing.

OP posts:
Original poster
HPFA · 17/07/2025 20:56

Bavariamaria · 17/07/2025 20:13

Is she paid by an agency for all the jobs? She should really be PAYE and it's unlikely she's being paid gross. Have a look at her contracts and payslips.

Her cleaning job was for an agency - however the receptionist at one of the places she worked took a liking to her and is having her trained up as cover for when she goes on holiday. But that will be paid by the receptionist's employer.

I've just never worked in this way - but DD seems quite happy and likes the flexibility. Of course it helps she's not paying rent and bills......

OP posts:
Bjorkdidit · 18/07/2025 04:14

None of those jobs should be on a self employed basis but sometimes it ends up being like that, because it's how it works in some industries eg events.

But tax and NI is likely to be a red herring as she probably won't earn more than the £12k ish pa threshold? But to be sure, if it's employed there will be a HMRC employer code on her pay slips, which is a 10 ish figure mix of numbers and letters with a / in it.

The other consideration is holiday entitlement. She's entitled to be paid at least NMW and should also build up paid holidays at a rate of 12.07% for every hour she works. This is explained on the ACAS website.

https://www.acas.org.uk/irregular-hours-and-part-year-workers

Building up holiday - Irregular hours and part-year workers - Acas

What irregular hours workers and part-year workers are and how they accrue holiday.

https://www.acas.org.uk/irregular-hours-and-part-year-workers

Original poster
HPFA · 18/07/2025 07:21

Bjorkdidit · 18/07/2025 04:14

None of those jobs should be on a self employed basis but sometimes it ends up being like that, because it's how it works in some industries eg events.

But tax and NI is likely to be a red herring as she probably won't earn more than the £12k ish pa threshold? But to be sure, if it's employed there will be a HMRC employer code on her pay slips, which is a 10 ish figure mix of numbers and letters with a / in it.

The other consideration is holiday entitlement. She's entitled to be paid at least NMW and should also build up paid holidays at a rate of 12.07% for every hour she works. This is explained on the ACAS website.

https://www.acas.org.uk/irregular-hours-and-part-year-workers

Thank you for that.

It seems like the crucial thing is to keep all those pay slips.

OP posts:
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