Research and analysis

Understanding barriers in determining employment status in SMEs

Mixed methods research to understand the experience of SMEs in determining individuals’ employment status.

Documents

Research into Employment Status in SMEs

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Details

A person’s employment status, that is if they are an employee or are self-employed, is important in determining how they pay their tax. This research looked at small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) experiences of classifying their workers’ employment status. It had three aims:

  • To understand the nature of employment in SMEs
  • To explore how SMEs determine the employment status of their workers
  • To understand SMEs’ awareness and use of HMRC’s Employment Status Indicator tool

The research involved a telephone survey with 1,722 SMEs. It also included 33 in-depth interviews with 33 SMEs.

Published 16 November 2017