ABSTRACT
The number of permanent staff working under a full-time contract of employment is diminishing. The stigma of unemployment too may be lessened if we could loosen the current association between ‘work’ and ‘employment’ – this link, after all, is of relatively recent origin. The breaking down of the link between being in ‘work’ and being in ‘employment’ may be accompanied by a weakening of the barrier between work and leisure. The ‘core’ employees are working to a relatively traditional contract of employment of a continuing kind, subject to termination by notice from either party. The self-employed operate under a contract for services, which provides discretion to the contractor as to how and when to meet the work requirements of the contract. The exact determination of contractual status – employed or self-employed – has exercised tribunals and the minds of legal specialists for decades. Self-employment covers sole traders, partnerships and individuals operating as limited liability companies.
