Would you consider this person to be an employee or self employed?

[LovedFedAndNoonesDead]

Looking for advice about a situation presenting itself……

Small business, with a couple of distinct separate entities, advertises for member of staff to work in their office. Working hours are specified, requirements for the role are given and training will be provided to successful applicant by owners/other staff. The advert states occasional extra hours expected to cover other staff when required. No ‘tools of the trade’ required to be provided by person doing job, location of work is fixed and only person hired by company will be able to do job.

Person applies and is given an interview during which they are told it will be a self employed role. They learn the business is broken down into a Ltd company, a sole trader and a, relatively new, online shop selling excess stock. If taken on to do role, person will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Person applying for job is not currently self employed and would not be taking on other work if successful in being offered this position.

Does this sound as if the person being taken on will be an employee of the company or a self employed contractor?

YABU - employee of company
YANBU - person will be self employed

Er...employee... the chancers!

Everything they have described sounds like they’re being employed, not self-employed.

You can check using this tool, if in doubt. www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return

Employee. Don’t think HMRC will see this as self employment

There's an online checker for these situations. I had to use it at work. You can exit before committing, and go through the questions again, trying different answers to see if it comes out with a different answer 😉. If you go right to the end it generates a reference number (it's an HMRC thing).
I think they're an employee, but definitely worth using the checker (you answer from the employer's perspective).

Employee. Chancing bastards.

I work for a very large company on a SE basis. As a freelancer, we are not allowed to access company training. That is for staff members. Not sure if that is the case legally but I suspect it is one of the differentiating factors on HMRC list.

https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/selfemployed-contractor

This may be useful.

They need to be an employee. Can they send a substitute in their place?

No, the person being employed would not be able to send a substitute to do the role - the training required is company specific and led by those in charge.

Is the person doing the work, able to also work for other 'clients'? No?, they're not self-employed.

Hopefully the correct answer is (c) neither, because the person in question turns down the role due to having sufficient self-respect and regard for the law not to participate in their own exploitation in order to allow the company to dodge legitimate taxes and obligations, and moreover wouldn't want to work for a company that would ask this, even if they are later persuade to act within the law.

Definitely an employee.
i used to be a tax accountant dealing with this.
I now work for HMRC.

I'd stay well away from the company. They are trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility as an employer. Not a good sign