Self Employed...Or Not?

[Floraclare]

I would be really grateful for any advice regarding my husband's current work contract.

My husband currently works for a small company, mainly doing electrical and installation work. He is supposedly on a Self Employed Contractor Agreement, which states that he will be available to the company for no less than 7.5 hours a day, four days a week, at such times and such locations as the company agrees - and agrees to not undertake any other work that might conflict with this. For this work he will be paid a standard days rate and will receive no other benefits (no holiday or sick pay etc.)

The contract is for one year, now almost up - and he is regularly doing well over the 7.5 hours and being sent all over the country - and all for the same standard day rate.

Am I right to think this contract is a little bit dodgy - and that he really doesn't meet the criteria to be self-employed?

I would be really grateful for any advice - they want him to sign another contract soon and I want to make sure he is able to negotiate a better deal.

Can he subcontract his work? Does the company supply tools, vehicle, uniform, pay for fuel?

I would strongly suspect he would meet hmrcs criteria for being employed.

There's a handy employment vs self employment checker on hmrc site, which he might be interested in

He should be employed

I dont know what the rules are to ensure he has to be employed though

That is very dodgy.

I work for a company that employs people on a similar basis - however

Our subcontractors although they submit a time sheet each week to assist with job costings are paid by fortnightly or monthly invoice.

Their hourly/daily rate is more than the hourly rate paid to employees

We expect a sub contractor not to take on any conflicting work once a job has been agreed eg. Next week we need you at x building site for 4 days. However if the subby says next week I won't be available for a day as I've been offered a day at y company there is nothing we can do other than say ok but for continuity we need to get someone else in for the whole of the job.

Employees have to request holiday & we approve or not approve it. The sub contractor on the other hand has total control over when they take their holidays.

Recently there was a subbie who was only working for our company, regular hours, regular days. We decided this meant he was too close to not meeting HMRC requirements so changed his status to employed.

Thanks for the replies, all really helpful. We did the HMRS employment indicator tool, which suggests that he should be considered an employee.

He can't subcontract his work and the company supplies some tools (although he does have some of his own) and also supplies a company van. His contract states that he has to be available for four days every week and that he isn't allowed to do any work that might conflict with this schedule or that might be for a competitor, which seems to prevent him from even doing similar work in his own time.

I think they're taking advantage of him, especially as he is working fairly long hours and even spent two days away from home last week

Thanks again