ESM11140 | Check Employment Status For Tax: Business On Own Account

Where a worker provides personal service and is subject to the control of the hirer it is necessary to consider whether they are nonetheless running their own business. Running an independent business is a pointer towards self-employment. This may require consideration of factors beyond the direct contractual terms agreed between the parties.

A worker who works for a number of separate clients consecutively or concurrently, or who enters into a large number of short-term contracts with multiple clients is likely to be running a business. A worker who works for a single client for a long period is unlikely to be running a business. Generally, self-employed workers are less likely to be financially dependent on a single hirer.

However, care should be taken when drawing conclusions from the pattern of a worker’s engagements. It is possible for a worker to be an employee for a short period of time. It is possible for a worker to be employed in one role and self-employed in another, during the same period.