Many of the rights we refer to on these pages only apply to employees, for example rights to redundancy or unfair dismissal.
However many freelancers and others, such as those on zero-hours contracts, interns, consultants, and sessional workers, will have some statutory employment rights. For example the broader group of workers have rights under the Equality Act, the protection against being subjected to a detriment on health & safety grounds, and protection in respect of whistleblowing.
Determining employment status can be difficult and Prospect has many examples of successfully bringing claims for members who were ‘called’ self-employed but were actually held to be employees with full rights. So always check with the union if there is any doubt in your employment status.
For more information see Prospect members’ guide for atypical workers.
This page is designed to give general information about members’ rights on returning to work. It does not cover all circumstances and should not be treated as a definitive answer. Members should contact Prospect either through the Member Contact Centre on 0300 600 1878 or contact their union rep or full-time officer for specific advice.