Am I a Worker or Self-Employed in England, Wales or Scotland?

Who this guide is for

People in England, Wales or Scotland who work through an app or platform, or on casual or freelance terms, and want to know whether they are a worker or self-employed and what rights that gives them.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Northern Ireland: see the Northern Ireland guide. Its tests and time limits are different.
• Tax, including IR35: see our IR35 guide.
• How much holiday pay you are owed, and rolled-up holiday pay: see our zero hours guide. Minimum wage underpayments in detail: see our minimum wage guide. Agency workers: see our agency worker guide.
• How the minimum wage is worked out for time spent logged in to an app waiting for jobs, and pay through an umbrella company. This guide does not cover them: ask Acas.
• Your other rights as an employee: see our employee rights guide. Tribunal time limits in detail: see our tribunal deadline guide.

What the rules depend on

1. Do you have to do the work yourself, or can you genuinely send someone else to do it? A worker only has a limited right to send someone else.
2. Who is in control? Who sets your pay, and who decides how, when and where you work?
3. Are you running your own business? For example, do you invoice for your pay, work for different clients and charge different fees?
4. Does the business have to offer you work, and do you have to accept it? This helps decide whether you are an employee or a worker.
5. What has gone wrong, and when? Tribunal claims have short deadlines.

"Am I a worker or self-employed?"

You are generally a worker if you have an arrangement to do work personally for a reward (it does not have to be written down), and you only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work. You must also not be doing the work as your own business for a client or customer.

You are likely to be a worker if most of these apply. You occasionally do work for a business. It does not have to offer you work and you do not have to accept it. Your contract uses words like "casual", "freelance", "zero hours" or "as required". You had to agree to the business's terms and conditions to get work. You are under the supervision or control of a manager. You cannot send someone else to do your work.

You are likely to be self-employed if you are responsible for how and when you work, you invoice for your pay instead of getting a wage, you can work for different clients and charge different fees, and you can send someone else to do the work for you.

You may not be genuinely self-employed if you cannot choose when or where you work, you are told how much holiday you can take, or you are given instructions on how to do your work.

"The app says I'm self-employed"

The label does not settle it. Your status depends on what really happens at work, which might not be the same as what your contract says. A business might call you self-employed when you are really a worker or an employee.

In 2021 the Supreme Court decided that the Uber drivers in that case were workers, not self-employed contractors (Uber BV v Aslam). That decision was about those drivers. It does not mean everyone who works through an app is a worker: each case depends on its own facts.

If you think you have been wrongly treated as self-employed, ask Acas for free advice. An employment tribunal can decide your status as part of a claim, for example for the minimum wage or holiday pay.

"What rights do I get as a worker?"

Workers are entitled to: the National Minimum Wage; protection against unlawful deductions from wages; the statutory minimum paid holiday; the statutory minimum rest breaks; working no more than 48 hours a week on average, unless you choose to opt out; protection against unlawful discrimination; protection for whistleblowers; and not being treated less favourably if you work part-time.

Workers may also be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, and to statutory pay for maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave, parental bereavement and neonatal care.

Employees and workers get a written statement on their first day, and payslips.

Workers do not usually get minimum notice when the work ends, protection against unfair dismissal, the right to request flexible working, time off for emergencies or statutory redundancy pay.

"How much should I be paid?"

If you are a worker, you must get at least the minimum wage for your age. From 1 April 2026 the hourly rates are: £12.71 at 21 and over; £10.85 at 18 to 20; £8.00 under 18; and £8.00 for apprentices.

The rates are the same across the UK. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the minimum wage on behalf of the Fair Work Agency and considers all complaints from workers.

The genuinely self-employed are not covered by the minimum wage.

"The app has deactivated me"

Workers do not usually have protection against unfair dismissal or a right to minimum notice. Those are employee rights.

Whistleblowing protection covers workers. If you were dropped after reporting wrongdoing, see our whistleblowing guide.

Protection against unlawful discrimination also covers workers. If you think you were dropped because of your race, sex, disability or another protected characteristic, ask Acas.

If you think you may be an employee, not just a worker, ask Acas: unfair dismissal depends on it. Otherwise, check the terms you agreed with the platform.

"I'm self-employed and a client hasn't paid me"

Raise it with the client first. Self-employed people cannot usually make a claim to an employment tribunal. If an invoice has not been paid, you can go to the county court in England and Wales or the sheriff court in Scotland: see our small claims guide.

"What about tax?"

HMRC may treat you as self-employed for tax even if you have a different status for employment rights. You can check your employment status for tax online on GOV.UK. If you are a contractor, the IR35 rules might apply: see our IR35 guide.

"Does the app have to check my right to work?"

From 1 October 2026, yes, if you start on or after that date and work under a worker's contract, as an individual sub-contractor (for example, logging into a delivery app to accept jobs), or through an online matching service. This applies even if the app calls you self-employed. It does not apply if you run your own independent business and deal directly with your own customers. If you started before 1 October 2026 in one of these ways, the law does not require them to check you, but they can still choose to.

• If your contract lets you send a substitute, the substitute should be checked before they do any work. The app cannot leave that check to you.
• If you have an eVisa, the only way to prove your right to work is online: you give them a share code starting with W (it lasts 90 days) and they check it on GOV.UK. They cannot check your documents by hand instead. An expired Biometric Residence Permit is no longer accepted.
• If you do not have an eVisa, they cannot insist on one way of proving it. If you do not want your identity checked through a digital ID provider, they should check your original documents instead. A check by hand means they see your original documents, with you there in person or on a video call (you can post the originals to them), and keep a copy. They must never ask for your passwords.
• They should check everyone the same way. If you are treated differently because of your race, the Equality Advisory Support Service can help: 0808 800 0082.
• Problems with your online status: UKVI Resolution Centre, 0300 790 6268.

This guide explains the checking rules only. For your own visa or immigration status: GOV.UK, the Home Office or a regulated immigration adviser.

"Is the law changing?"

The three types of status are still the law. In December 2025 the government said it would consult on employment status. Any change would need new law.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes new rights for zero hours and low-hours workers, such as a right to be offered guaranteed hours. These are not in force yet.

Deadlines you must meet

• Before most employment tribunal claims, you must notify Acas to start early conciliation.
• Unpaid wages at an employment tribunal: 3 months less 1 day, or 6 months less 1 day where the act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026.
• Your exact date depends on your facts: see our tribunal deadline guide.

Traps

• Being called self-employed in a contract or an app does not settle your status.
• The Uber decision was about those drivers. Each case depends on its own facts, such as whether you can genuinely send someone else to do the work.
• Worker status gives you the minimum wage and paid holiday, but not unfair dismissal protection or statutory redundancy pay.
• Your status for tax can be different from your status for employment rights.
• Tribunal deadlines are short, and you must contact Acas first.