People manager guide: Employment status

Businesses use the services of people in different ways and under different terms. Within your own team, you may have some employees, for example, but you may also have team members who work as contractors, consultants, casuals, agency workers, zero-hours contractors, temps or interns. 

Different types of staff have different types of employment rights. For example, while employees have legal rights to such things as statutory sick pay (SSP) or redundancy entitlements, other types of workers do not.  

Although it can be easy to slip into the habit of treating everyone in the same way, it’s vital you make a clear distinction in how you treat different team members depending on their employment status. If lines become blurred, non-employees may inadvertently attract employment rights, which can prove expensive for the organisation if they later pursue an employment claim. 

As a manager, it is important to understand the different kinds of employment status or types of contract or arrangements under which your team members are engaged so that you can manage your team and their expectations. It will also help you support your organisation to function effectively and avoid any claims against it.