PO Number:
PD27 - University of Exeter Employment Status Questionnaire
To be completed after contract has
been issued.
This questionnaire is to help establish whether an individual can be paid gross on a self
employed basis or whether they should be paid through the payroll with deductions made for
tax and national insurance. The questions are based on common law tests of employment.
No single question is an absolute indicator of employment status; a decision must be based
on the individual circumstances and balance of “Yes/No” responses.
Section A - To be completed by the Supplier
Name of individual contracting with the University and trading name (if applicable):
Contact details: (address, telephone no, email):
Date of Birth:
Please give the name and address of the tax office you are registered with OR your Unique
Taxpayer Reference Number (UTR)
Please answer all the questions below. If you answer yes to any of the questions please
provide additional comments in the notes box.
Yes
No
Notes
1
Have you been an employee
of the University within the
last 12 months? If yes,
please provide details (e.g.
date and circumstances).

If the individual has been an
employee of the university
within the last 12 months and
their current engagement is
similar to that previously
provided, this suggests that
the engagement may merely
be an extension of
employment.
2
Will you provide services
solely to the University during
this period? If you have other
clients please provide
evidence to support this?

Providing services exclusively
to the University is indicative
of employment. Working with
several clients is more akin to
self employment, however
evidence should be provided
to reduce the tax risk of paying
the individual gross (names of
other clients would be
sufficient).
3
Are you likely to spend more
than 50% of your total
working time providing
services to the University?

If the majority of the
individual’s time is spent
working for the University this
may indicate an
employer/employee
relationship.
Comments
I run my own business
providing specialist
consultancy support/advice
in this subjectto a range of
clients such as X business
and also X University.
4
Are you VAT registered?
Please confirm your VAT
number in the comments box
if you are.

Employees are outside the
scope for VAT. Therefore if an
individual has registered for
Vat this is another indicator of
self employment.
5
Do you need to be covered
by the University professional
indemnity insurance? If you
have your own insurance
cover, then please answer
No.

If the individual provides their
work professional indemnity
insurance cover this is an
indicator of self employment,
as a self employed individual
controls their own work and
carries the financial risks of
their work.
I confirm that I am working on a self-employed basis for this work that I undertaking
for the University of Exeter.
Signed:
Date:
Section B - To be completed by the College / Service
Please provide a description of the services to be provided by the individual/company:
Specialist lectures in xxx on xxx module (2nd year)
Expected start and end dates of the work: 1st semester 2013/2014
Estimated number of days it is expected that the individual will provide services to the
University of Exeter over the course of the engagement: ? x 2 hour lectures
College/Service contact (name and email): College of Humanities
Please answer all the questions below. If you answer yes to any of the questions please
provide additional comments in the notes box.
Yes
1
2
Is the individual under the
supervision or control of the
University in carrying out their
work? “Control” here refers to
being able to choose the
hours they work and
determine how the work will
be carried out.
Is the individual restricted
from working for any other
organisations/clients during
No


Notes
Comments
Although a ‘Yes’ answer is
indicative of being an
employee, the individual
may still be considered selfemployed where there is
some initial supervision and
they are free to perform the
duties as they see fit.
Timing of lectures is by mutual
agreement, subject to
timetabling limitations, so
there is limited flexibility.
If they are restricted then
this is an indication of the
University’s obligation to
supply work to the individual
Content to be agreed with
module leader but otherwise
provider is free to determine
method and pace of delivery.
and the University’s control
over this indicates an
employer/employee
relationship.
this engagement?

3
Does the individual work
regular hours (e.g. every
Monday, two days per week,
or any other regular pattern)?
If work is performed on an ad
hoc basis please tick “No”.
If yes, then it suggests that
the individual has limited
control over work performed
and it points strongly
towards being considered an
employee.
4
Is the individual obliged to
accept work offered by the
University?

If the individual is obliged to
accept work offered by the
University and the University
is obliged to provide work to
the individual, this is a
strong indication of
employment.
5
Will the contract exceed 12
months?

If the work is carried out
over an extended period of
time it may be viewed as an
indicator of being an
employee.
But maybe invited back
another year – but no
obligation to do so.
6
Is the individual prohibited
from sending in a substitute
to cover for them?
It is typical for a self
employed individual to be
able to provide a substitute if
they cannot perform the
duties (e.g. off sick or on
holiday), however it is
unlikely that an employee
could do the same.
If cannot attend, must
rearrange session.
7
In the event that agreed
timescales are not met or the
work performed is below the
required standard, are the
costs of rectifying any
changes borne by the
University? If it is the
individual who bears the time
/cost of correcting the work
please tick “No”.
8
Is the individual providing
invoices on a regular basis
(eg a set amount each
month)? If payment is on an
ad hoc basis or for a
particular piece of work,
please tick “No”.



See question 1, once agreed
for timetable, fixed.
Typically an employee would
correct their errors on the
University’s time, whereas a
self employed individual
would bear the financial
burden of correcting any
mistakes in their own time.
Regular payments are an
indicator of employment,
whereas ad-hoc payments
demonstrate that payment is
made as work is completed
by the contractor. However,
a self employed individual
may invoice regularly on a
work-in-progress basis
during the assignment,
therefore the facts
surrounding payment must
It has been agreed that the
provider will invoice monthly.
be taken into account.
9
Does the individual receive
payment without the need to
issue an invoice to the
University?

Where the individual issues
an invoice for the service
provided, this suggests that
the payment relates to these
services, rather than a fixed
regular payment similar to
that of an employee.
10
Are the services provided by
the individual similar to that of
any employee of the
university?

If there is no real difference
between the services
provided by the individual
and that of an employee,
this is a strong indication
that the individual could be
deemed to be an employee.
11
Will the individual be
provided with any staff
benefits (such as pension,
maternity or holiday pay)?

Where an individual is
provided with the same staff
benefits as an employee this
indicates that they are
integrated with the
organisation to the same
extent as an employee, and
this therefore points towards
being an employee.
12
Is the individual providing fulltime cover for a full-time
employee of the University,
(for example maternity or
holiday cover)?

If the individual provides full
time cover for a full time
employee they may be
treated as effectively taking
that employment for the
duration of the contract.
Therefore full time cover is
an indication of being an
employee.
13
Is the individual provided with
a fixed workplace at the
University, including the use
of a desk, computer, phone,
or similar equipment?

Provision of a fixed work
place or substantial
equipment is an indication
that the individual is ‘part
and parcel’ of the
organisation, and so points
to employment. Self
employed individuals
typically work from their own
office, or if on site, tend to
provide their own
equipment.
No one at the college has the
specific xxx knowledge of this
subject.
But an office space will be
provided for follow up one-toones with students.
If any of the answers to the above are yes, please provide more detail in the
comments column. The person may still be classed as self employed however, it may
be more suitable to pay the individual through the main payroll or through the casual
workers payroll for short, ad hoc, work. Your HR Business Partner can discuss these
options with you.
Signed (on behalf of the College/Service): _________________________________
Name: ______________________________________________________
Date: _______________________________________________________
Once this has been completed, then please retain this questionnaire within the College
/Service. Copies of the questionnaire are not required by Accounts Payable (if the individual
is deemed to be self employed) or Pay and Benefits (if the individual is deemed to be
employed). It is however, crucial that this questionnaire is retained within the
College/Service as HMRC will need this in the case of an audit.
Although this questionnaire produced 4 yes responses, the College/Service were happy, that
based on the evidence/comments provided, the individual was self-employed for this work.