Cotswold Developments v Williams: Independent Business or Part of the Contractor’s Organisation?
In Cotswold Developments Construction Ltd v Williams [2006] IRLR 181, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered the distinction between:
someone actively marketing services to customers as an independent business; and
someone recruited to work as an integral part of another organisation.
Key finding
A person is more likely to be genuinely self-employed where they operate an identifiable business, seek customers generally and deal with the contractor at arm’s length.
A person recruited mainly to provide labour within the contractor’s operation may instead qualify as a worker.
Lesson
Ask yourself:
Do I advertise and obtain my own customers?
Do I quote and negotiate my own jobs?
Do I carry genuine commercial risk?
Or do I mainly attend the contractor’s sites and follow its instructions?
The answers may matter more than the word subcontractor.