Self-employed v zero hours

[Bombaybunty]

I work mainly from home on a self employed basis. I only work for one company. I work anything between 7 and 35 hours per week. I've done it for several years.

I spoke to the owner of the business I work for today and he suggested going on a zero hours contract with them.

What difference would it make if I became an employee on a zero hours contract?

No more tax returns is very tempting!

Firstly are you sure you are actually self employed at the moment?
It's not a choice, there are criteria set by HMRC
As an employee ypu may get some employee benefits such as sick pay, pension etc but you will be getting paid net not gross so our hourly rate will probably drop.
I would normally say that becoming an employee gives more security but with a zero hours contract that might not be the case

Sounds like the business owner has discovered that HMRC or an employment tribunal would consider you to be employed or a worker rather than self employed, and therefore entitled to holiday pay and a number of other rights, and is trying to get his house in order before you notice and claim backdated holiday pay and/or he gets into trouble with HMRC.

Cynical, moi?

Definitely set up with HMRC as a self employed sole trader.

Want to know what kind of financial impact it will have? I'll need to pay more NI I presume, but will that be offset by holiday pay?

"Definitely set up with HMRC as a self employed sole trader."

That doesn't mean you are self employed. It means you and your employer/client are telling HMRC you're self employed. If HMRC or a tribunal actually looked at it, they may well disagree. Up to 35 hours a week? Only one 'client'? Doesn't sound too much like genuine self employment, so your employer/client has probably realised this and wants to set things straight.

Thanks for your helpful replies.

Can you make either a loss or profit?
Do you decide your hours ?
Do you decide where to work and how to complete the work?
Can you outsource the work to someone else?
Do you fix or finish tasks In your own time?
Do you get a fixed price for your work?
Can you work for more than one client?
Do you buy your own equipment and cover your own running costs?

If none or most of these don't apply then you are already employed. Being registered with HMRC means nothing beyond the fact that they haven't looked into your status -YET!

I'm sorry if you think we aren't answering the question you have asked but it is important for both you and your " employer" to get this clear before making any changes.