Status of workers

Introduction

1. This section provides an outline of rules that determine the employment status of workers, both employees and self employed persons, for the purposes of Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

2. The question of whether a person is or is not an employee is a crucial question because health and safety legislation places distinct duties on:

• employers;
• people who are employed and people who are not (both self-employed and members of the public).

3. Section 53 (1) HSWA contains the following definitions:

• "employee" -is "an individual who works under a contract of employment (or is treated by section 51A as being an employee), and related expressions shall be construed accordingly";
• "self-employed person" is "an individual who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of employment, whether or not he himself employs others";
• "contract of employment" is "a contract of employment or apprenticeship (whether express or implied and, if express, whether oral or in writing)".