Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Zero hoursEmployment lawEmployment contracts

Casual workers: what is their legal status?

by Roger Byard 12 Sep 2008
by Roger Byard 12 Sep 2008

What is the legal status of someone employed on a casual basis? Is it related to the number of hours they work? I am an HR manager at a local authority that employs museum education assistants. They run workshops for school parties at museum sites and do outreach work on school premises. The number of hours they work is determined by the number of bookings made by schools. The four casuals we use have worked an average of 300 hours a year each. The local authority I work for wants to change these workers’ status from casual to contract – what are the implications of this?






Resources on casual workers



  • When does a temporary or casual worker become an employee?

  • What is the status of workers engaged on casual or zero hours contracts?

  • Flexible working: Casual hours contract clause

The key issue here is whether these individuals are, in employment law terms, self-employed, employees or workers. This is not judged by how many hours someone works, but depends on the nature of the relationship.

For an individual to be an employee, there must be mutuality of obligation between the parties. The employer must be under an obligation to provide work, and the employee to accept that work and perform it personally. If an individual is free to refuse work without any negative consequences, or if they are free to simply send someone else to perform the work if they choose, they will not be an employee.

If an individual is not an employee – because there is no mutuality of obligation – but undertakes to perform services personally, they may be a worker. This includes casual workers who provide services on an irregular basis and are under no obligation to accept work. This flexibility is common in casual hours contracts where the employer does not guarantee to provide work and the worker is free to turn it down. Hence, in a case involving workers engaged as power station guides on a casual, as-required basis, there was no contract of employment. There was no obligation on the workers to work, and they had failed to attend on occasions without consequence.

If the individual is free to send a substitute, or if they provide services through a business, they may well not be a worker or employee.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

However, when a regular pattern of working or significant number of hours develops, a business is likely to look closely at whether the individual is, in reality, an employee.

Susan Thomas, solicitor, Charles Russell




Roger Byard

previous post
Unison tells members not to use fingerprint clocking-in system
next post
Extending the right to request flexible working

You may also like

Government publishes ‘roadmap’ for Employment Rights Bill

1 Jul 2025

Employers’ duty of care: keeping workers safe in...

27 Jun 2025

When will the Employment Rights Bill become law?

26 Jun 2025

Graduate jobs this summer ‘will be toughest since...

25 Jun 2025

Employee ownership rockets in past decade

25 Jun 2025

Seven ways to prepare now for the Employment...

20 Jun 2025

The employer strikes back: the rise of ‘quiet...

13 Jun 2025

Lawyers warn over impact of Employment Rights Bill...

13 Jun 2025

Racism claims have tripled and ‘Equality Act is...

12 Jun 2025

Court rejects Liberty’s legal challenge against EHRC consultation

9 Jun 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+