Whatever your employment status, whether you are an employee, worker or freelancer,  you have rights at work that are protected by law. Below is a comprehensive summary of what you are entitled to plus links to articles that cover each in detail.

The main legal rights of an Employee:

• To a Written Statement – this must be provided within two months of beginning the employment
• Maternity Leave and Pay, Adoption Leave and Pay and Paternity Leave and Pay
• Antenatal care
• Parental leave
• Time off to care for Dependants
• The Right to apply to work flexibly
• From 6th April 2010 the right to request time off to undertake study or training is introduced for employees working in companies who have an average of 250+ employees (and will be introduced to all companies from April 2011). 
• The right not to be Unfairly Dismissed
• for your Employer to operate a fair Disciplinary and Dismissal policy
• Access to a Grievance Procedure at work
• Statutory Redundancy Pay
• Time off for Public Duties, e.g. Magistrate duties; for Trade Union activities (where your employer recognises a Trade Union, Union representatives have a statutory right to take paid time off to carry out trade union duties and training.  A new ACAS Code of Practice was introduced on 1.1.10 to reinforce this statutory right); to attend Jury Service
• A Stakeholder pension - (if your employer has more than 5 employees)
• An itemised pay statement
• Plus those rights that a Worker has below

NB: Often Employers will give benefits/terms to Employees that are more generous than the legal minimum entitlements.

The main legal rights of a Worker:

Workers (including Agency workers) and Employees have the following rights:

• National Minimum Wage
• Rest Breaks and Paid Holiday under the Working Time Directive
• Protection from unauthorised deductions of Pay
• Maternity and Adoption Pay (not Leave) and Paternity Pay (not Leave) – details as above
• Protection against less favourable treatment if you are part-time
• Statutory Sick Pay
• Protection again less favourable treatment if you ‘whistle-blow’ (i.e. make a disclosure in the public interest)
• Not to be discriminated against unlawfully on grounds or race, sex, marriage, disability, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief and to receive equal pay (with members of the opposite sex if you can show they are doing similar work of equal value)
• Protection under Health and Safety law. For details of the Health & Safety legislation in the UK please look at the official website www.hse.gov.uk.  With regards to appropriate Temperatures for the Workplace – there is no legal minimum temperature set, the law says that during working hours the temperature inside workplace buildings should be reasonable.  However, the HSE’s guidance recommends a minimum temperature of 16 degrees for workplaces where activity is mainly sedentary (offices) and 13 degrees for workplaces where work involves physical effort.
• Protection against discrimination for membership or non-membership of a Trade Union.  And from 6th April 2010 the blacklisting of workers from employment as a result of their union membership or activities is prevented.  If a worker is blacklisted and suffers a detriment at work because of this (e.g. been refused employment, been subject to detriment or unfairly dismissed because of being on a blacklist) they can complain to a tribunal for damages and/or a restraining or prevention order against the blacklist.

(Agency Workers will receive the right to equal treatment with permanent employees after 12 weeks – this legislation will be introduced by 2011 and full details will be on Workline).

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The main legal rights of the Self-Employed (Freelancer):

You do not have employment rights as such, as you are seen as your own boss and so can make decisions on fees, holidays etc. You will not therefore be entitled to:

• company sick leave, company maternity pay or company pension provisions
• the legal right to protection under your company’s internal disciplinary and grievance schemes
• the legal right not be dismissed (always, however, read the contract of service you have agreed as this may contain clauses relating to termination of your agreement and time-periods).

There is, however, legal protection so:

• you should not be Discriminated against (as above)
• you are entitled to a Safe and Healthy working environment (as above) www.hse.gov.uk
• you should be paid for the work that you have done.  If you are having problems with late payments see this comprehensive advice from the NUJ – www.londonfreelancer.org/feesguide.  And if your Client is going into receivership or administration read this advice on avoiding bad debts - click here

You may also be entitled to Statutory Maternity Allowance if you are pregnant and have recently left an engagement.

Other information for Freelancers:

• Also, on the occasion that you are classed as a ‘Worker’ (for employment Rights) but Self-Employed (for tax purposes), you may be entitled to the ‘Workers’ Rights as above. E.g. It is quite common in the Film and TV Industry for freelancers to be classed as ‘Workers’ and receive paid Holiday under the Working Time Directive legislation.
• Most self-employed individuals will pay class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NIC’s) which give you entitlement to the basic State Pension and Statutory Maternity Allowance. Class 2 NIC’s do not give you entitlement to Job Seekers Allowance, Statutory Sick Pay or the additional State Pension.
• For details on tax information for Freelancers click here
• For details of what legitimate expenses you can claim back from the HMRC please click here
• If you are registered as a Limited Company and provide your services on a freelance basis to an organisation (as a Provider) then you will not receive ‘workers’ rights from this organisation – it is up to you to provide yourself with ‘workers’ rights as you are employed by your own Limited Company.
• If you are freelance, have you considered becoming a Limited Company? There are many advantages in doing this, both financially and for marketing purposes, but also there are disadvantages with a higher administrative burden. There are organisations that can help you take care of the tax and administration burden – Have a look at the Crunch website that gives you a simple way to create and manage invoices, expenses, payments and tax returns, leaving you to concentrate on your areas of expertise.  This Guide explains how to set up a Limited Company – click here.

What to do if you have a dispute with your Employer about any of the Rights listed above?

• Try to resolve the problem first by talking to your manager or Personnel/Human Resources department if you have one. Your organisation should have its own Grievance Procedure that if you are an employee you should have access to.
• Talk to your Trade Union or Employee Representative if you have one.
• Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) offer free and impartial advice on employment matters – www.citizensadvice.org.uk
• ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) offer free, confidential advice on all employment rights issues. Their helpline is 08457 474747, or their website is http://www.acas.org.uk.
• If you cannot resolve the matter you may be able to make a claim at an employment tribunal – but this must be within three months of the dispute. The Employment Tribunal Service enquiry line is 08457 959775, or their website is www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk

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If you work in the UK Media Industries and have a question about this or any other topic, please e-mail us at workline@freelanceadvisor.co.uk

If you are an Employer and need ongoing professional help with any staff/freelance issues then talk to us at The HR Kiosk (click here) - a Human Resources Consultancy for small businesses – you can retain us for as much time as you need.

Please note that the advice given on this website and by our Advisors is guidance only and cannot be taken as an authoritative interpretation of the law. It can also not be seen as specific advice for individual cases. Please also note that there are differences in legislation in Northern Ireland.