Employment status reform: what the government is consulting on

The government is consulting on reforms to employment status and on new protections for self-employed people. The consultation, Make Work Pay: employment status reform and protections for the self-employed, was published on Wednesday 14 October 2026 and closes at 11:55pm on Friday 8 January 2027.

Your employment status decides which employment rights you have. Below, we explain how status works under the current law, what the government is consulting on and what the consultation means for you at present.

The three types of employment status

Employment law in Great Britain recognises three main types of status: employee, worker and self-employed.

An employee works under a contract of employment. Employees have the widest set of rights, including the right not to be unfairly dismissed after the qualifying period, statutory redundancy pay, statutory notice and family leave rights.

A worker has a contract to do work or provide services personally, for someone who is not their client or customer. Workers have fewer rights than employees, but they include the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, protection from unlawful deductions from wages and whistleblowing protection.

A self-employed person runs a business and has few employment rights. Some self-employed people are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, depending on how they work.

The label in your contract does not decide your status. Tribunals look at how the working relationship operates in practice.

Why personal service matters now

Under the current law, one of the main questions in deciding whether a person is a worker is whether they must do the work personally. Where a person can send someone else to do the work in their place, a tribunal may find that the person is not a worker, and they then lose the rights workers have.

What the government is consulting on

The consultation seeks views on three areas:

• placing less emphasis on personal service when deciding whether a person is a worker
• improving compliance with the employment status rules, including through a presumption of worker status and enforcement measures
• strengthening protections for the self-employed, including through written statements, blacklisting protections and health and safety protections

A presumption of worker status would mean that a person is treated as a worker unless the business shows otherwise. At present, the person claiming worker status usually has to prove it.

What this could mean for you

If the government takes these proposals forward, more people who work through apps, agencies or flexible arrangements may be treated as workers. That would give them rights such as the National Minimum Wage and paid holiday.

Self-employed people could gain new protections, such as a written statement of the terms on which they work, protection from blacklisting and health and safety protections.

These are proposals only. The government will decide what to do after the consultation closes, and any change to the law would need legislation.

The law has not changed

Until any new law comes into force, the current rules on employment status apply. If you think your employer has treated you as self-employed when you are a worker or an employee, the current tests decide your rights.

How to respond

Anyone can respond to the consultation, including individual workers and self-employed people. The consultation is published on GOV.UK, and responses must be submitted by 11:55pm on Friday 8 January 2027.

Two examples

A delivery driver worked through an app. His contract described him as self-employed, but the app set his rates, his routes and the times he had to be available. Under the current law, a tribunal would look at how the arrangement worked in practice to decide whether he was a worker. Under the proposals, the business would have to show that he was not a worker.

A self-employed decorator was refused further work by several building firms after she raised safety concerns on a site. The proposed health and safety protections for the self-employed would be relevant to her situation. These protections are not yet law.

These are illustrative scenarios. They are not real Belonge clients or decided cases.

Time limits

For most claims where the act complained about happened on or after Thursday 1 October 2026, the time limit is six months less one day. Where the act happened before Thursday 1 October 2026, the time limit is three months less one day. Check the date of the event before relying on the longer limit. ACAS early conciliation may extend the time limit.