Employment: the tests decide, then the arithmetic
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| employee/emˈplɔɪiː/ | a worker with the full set of statutory rights |
| unfair dismissal | dismissal without a fair reason or a fair process, after two years' service |
| contractor | a genuinely self-employed person with contract rights only |
| data controller | the entity that decides how and why personal data is processed |
The handshake that was accruing at 1.5 weeks a year
- The Saturday baker has worked three years on a handshake, and just asked about redundancy. Her status - employee, worker, self-employed - is decided by law, not by her invoices.
- Jurisdiction: England and Wales throughout.
The tests decide, not the label
- Employee 雇员: control, integration, mutuality, no substitution - all rights, including unfair dismissal 不公平解雇. Worker: holiday, minimum wage, discrimination. Genuinely self-employed contractor 承包人: contract rights only.
- Autoclenz: the real terms beat the written pretence. Sham clauses are read against the draftsman.
Employee, worker, or self-employed?
Route each fact pattern through the tests.
Which is NOT one of the status tests?
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The tests look at substance; the label is the last thing that matters.
Match each status to its entitlements.
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Rights follow status; the data duty follows the data.
A written substitution clause beats the parties' actual practice.
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Autoclenz: the real terms beat the written pretence.
The redundancy arithmetic
- 22 years' service ending at 59, weekly pay 800. The week is capped at 700.
- Age bands: 41+ counts 1.5, 22-40 counts 1.0. 19 years at 1.5 + 3 at 1.0 = 31.5 weeks x 700 = 22,050.
19 years at 1.5 plus 3 at 1.0. The total weeks?
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19 x 1.5 = 28.5, plus 3 = 31.5.
31.5 weeks at the capped 700. The redundancy pay?
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31.5 x 700 = 22,050.
Statutory notice after 22 years of service, in weeks?
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A week a year, capped at 12 (ERA 1996 s.86).
A week's pay of 800 in a redundancy calculation uses:
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The cap applies; age bands then weight the years.
Notice, dismissal and the data duty
- Notice: 1 week under 2 years, a week a year to 12 weeks (ERA 1996 s.86). Unfair dismissal needs 2 years, a fair reason, a fair process.
- The loyalty app holds 14,000 customers including allergy data: Nimbus is the data controller 数据控制者; the ICO upper tier reaches 17.5m or 4% of turnover.
The ICO upper-tier maximum, in millions of pounds?
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17.5m or 4% of worldwide turnover, whichever is higher.
Three employment slips
- Choosing the label before the facts. The tests decide.
- Forgetting the 2-year clock. It starts on day one, not at dismissal.
- Thinking small means exempt. There is no data-law exemption for size.
Recap
- Status by tests: control, integration, mutuality, substitution.
- Redundancy: capped 700, age-banded, 20-year limit - 22,050 in the worked case.
- Fines scale with turnover, not company size: 8.7m/2% and 17.5m/4%.