Is this consultancy? Can it be if you're PAYE?

[VaguelyInteresting]

There's a very long backstory here, but essentially a previous employer has asked me to return on a very PT basis, for minimum 6 mths but open ended, in a bespoke role that encompasses:

• Advising the CEO on strategy (reqs significant understanding of both the org and the sector)
• Supporting the CEO to identify new business opportunities and strategic partnerships
• Supporting the CEO to action these, through briefings, drafting key external comms, and assisting with relationship management, specifically in relation to business development

It will be a very "backstage" role - poss some external relationship management, but not the majority.

The company haven't yet suggested what the title will be - they just said "we really need you back - can you come back 1-2 days, this is what we need you for". Which is nice to hear, but doesnt really help me make sense of it for third parties, on paper/my CV - and for once, I AM thinking about titles/looking ahead to my next move (I've always been very "go with the flow" "don't worry about titles" - but now feels like a good time to be making strides in my career and bitter experience tells me, that you do indeed need the title to reflect your actual level of experience & seniority - because that's how some employers think, even if you don't).

I do have another job due to start in July (with a different previous employer no less!) - I can make the two work together in terms of my time, and there are no issues in relation to competition; the two businesses are in similar but not directly related fields, and there are no concerns for either employer that there would be any conflict of interest (have had brief conversations about this with both). I can be very transparent with both companies as I have good history with both.

This offer to support the CEO feels like a consultant role to me (? does it to other people?), but for a variety of personal reasons I would vastly prefer to be PAYE than invoice as a freelancer (company happy with this - I checked) and I'm not sure that you can BE a consultant and on payroll - Ive only ever worked with external consultants, but happy to be told that it is something that exists?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Also willing to hear if people think this PT role with my old company generally or being PAYE sounds inadvisable for any reason - can still turn it down.

TIA

Sorry if this is a bit rambly - keeping an eye on a grumpy 7 year old whose having some major bath time strops...

You can provide consultancy type support even if employed.

The 3 main factors to test around whether an individual is an employee or self-employed are:

1. Mutuality of obligation – is there an implicit or explicit understanding that work will be provided, and you will do the work! Whilst you doing the contract to do work, if you are a contractor then you could, in theory turn this down. The client could also stop giving you work with no repercussions from an employment point of view.
2. substitution – could you send somebody else to do your work (this would be with the client/employees consent of course)
3. Control-does the client/employer have extensive control over when and how the work is done? If they are not bothered if you work at night or any time of day, as long as you get the work done then the level of control is low. if they want you to be in a certain place at a certain time doing the work in a certain way then control is high, and you are probably an employee. There is also the question of whether you use your own other companies equipment.

From a tax point of view, the considerations are slightly different. But ideally you should be invoicing more than one client if you are truly self-employed, if this is not the case then it can be classed as “disguised employment”.

There is no reason why you can’t be on PAYE at two employees, and two very different kinds of roles at both, and actually be an employee both, regardless of what you do. Being a consultant or self-employed is more about how you work then what you actually do.

Feels like a Chief of staff role? Dh considered doing this for a CEO at one stage he thought it would be an interesting challenge.

He’s a consultant - most of the time in his consulting role he is challenging and supporting a CEO - usually several as we always have more than one client - conflict of interest arises occasionally but usually we are working with clients on different cycles so they are not directly competing. The method of payment is fairly irrelevant to the role, we run a consultancy so we invoice - if we didn’t Dh would do Paye - some of our consultants do this - it doesn’t change anything, we negotiate a contract. The client pays a day rate and if you want paye it’s all deducted from your day rate - the client pays the same regardless.

I once did a role like this, albeit to CFO. I was definitely an employee, Just because I advice on things doesn’t mean I cannot be an employee. Chief of Staff would be a suitable job title.