Worker status & pay
What is an employee?
An employee works under a contract of employment. Employees have the fullest set of rights, including unfair dismissal protection and redundancy pay after qualifying service.
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<figure>
<img src="https://agencyoptix.co.uk/glossary/employee/diagram.svg" alt="employee — diagram from AgencyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://agencyoptix.co.uk/glossary/employee">What is an employee?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://agencyoptix.co.uk">AgencyOptix</a>
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</figure>The distinguishing features are mutuality of obligation — an obligation to offer and to accept work — alongside personal service and control.
For an agency, whether a temporary worker is an employee of the agency matters for the obligations that follow, and it is a question of the actual arrangement rather than the label on it.
Continuity of service is the other consequence. Breaks between assignments can preserve or break continuity depending on the arrangement, which affects when qualifying rights accrue.
What goes wrong in practice
- Arrangements described as casual that in practice carry mutuality.
- Continuity of service never tracked across assignments.
- Employment status assumed settled at onboarding when the arrangement has changed.