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Employment status (worker, employee, self-employed, director or contractor) affects employment rights and employer responsibilities in the workplace

• Overview

  In employment law a person’s employment status helps determine: their…

• Worker

  A person is generally classed as a ‘worker’ if: they have a contract or…

• Employee

  An employee is someone who works under an employment contract. A person…

• Employee shareholders

  An employee shareholder is someone who works under an employment contract…

• Self-employed and contractor

  A person is self-employed if they run their business for themselves and…

• Director

  Company directors run limited companies on behalf of shareholders.…

• Office holder

  A person who’s been appointed to a position by a company or organisation…

• Legal decisions on employment status

  A court or employment tribunal (known as an industrial tribunal in…

Joining a union and getting recognition for collective bargaining and agreements - legal rules about membership, union reps and your rights

• Joining a trade union

  A trade union is an organisation with members who are usually workers or…

• Trade union membership: your employment rights

  You have the right to: choose to join or not join a union decide to leave…

• Role of your trade union rep

  A trade union representative (‘rep’) is a union member who represents and…

• Union negotiations with your employer

  When an employer and a union agree to negotiate on pay, terms and…

Employers might monitor workers, but if the monitoring involves taking data, images or drug testing they have to do this in a way that's legal and fair

• Overview

  Employers might monitor workers. This could be done in various ways, like:…

• Drug testing

  Employers have to have consent if they want to test for drugs. Usually…

• Email, CCTV and other monitoring

  Employers must explain the amount of monitoring clearly in the staff…

Includes industrial action and recognising trade unions

• Updated: 24 June 2015

Industrial Workers of the World trade union: annual returns, rules, statement to members, decisions and other related documents.

• Updated: 5 February 2024

Workers' rights to rest breaks at work - length of breaks, how your age affects rest breaks, exceptions to the rules for shift workers, young people, and drivers.

Minimum wage rates for different types of paid employment - time work, output work, unmeasured work, salaried hours work.

The rights of agricultural and farm workers - including pay rates, agricultural minimum wage, overtime, holiday leave, rest breaks, help and advice

Who's entitled to the minimum wage, what's included when working out the minimum wage, and what happens if there's a dispute.

Apply for a Temporary Work - Religious Worker visa to do religious work in the UK - getting sponsored, fees, eligibility, family members.