Tax

This topic considers various aspects of tax law that are often encountered by employment lawyers.

For employment law purposes, an individual who provides work or services for another person may fall within three categories; they may be a worker, an employee (in which case they will also be a worker), or they may be a self-employed or independent contractor. However, from a tax perspective, an individual is either employed or self-employed; there is no third category. While some of the same case law is relevant to the question of employee status in the context of tax and employment law, there is a divergence in the approach taken by the tribunals and courts in dealing with employee status for these purposes. This may mean that, even if an individual is not regarded as an employee for tax purposes, an employment tribunal may determine that they are an employee and therefore eligible to bring a claim eg for unfair dismissal or redundancy, and vice versa. For more detailed information on employee status in the context of employment law, see Practice Note: Employee status.