Employment categories and legal ability to perform them

[zeke]

Greetings!

I am confused about some employment related terms that I am not familiar with, and how each is related to the various immigration options.

What is a/n.....

Contract -- my recruitment agency (XYZ ) says that if I do locum work, I would do so as "a contract to the XYZ agency". Does that mean I would be an employee of XYZ (I think I understand that I would not be an employee of the organization for whom I would actually be providing my work tasks), or would I be self-employed? Or is "a contract" something entirely different? Do I have to have HSMP as "a contract"? Can someone with WP be a "contract" worker? Is it different from being an employee?

Locum --is it the same thing as temporary? It is permissible for someone with a work permit to perform locum work? Or is HSMP required? my agency says that locum workers are paid much more than permanent workers. Is this true?

Temporary -- see above

Self-Employed-- Am I self-employed if I take up locum/temporary with an agency? Or can it depend upon the arrangements with the agency? In USA, self-employment means that I am responsible for figuring out withholding and other tax, and that I alone am responsible for providing for health insurance ( I realize that UK has socialized medicine -- are the self-employed eligible for National Health Insurance??)

Umbrella company-- is this the same as an agency, like XYZ Agency, that creates a "contract" as per above and then finds work assignments for me? Why is it against the law for a WP holder to be involved with one?

Permanent employee-- I guess that is the opposite of locum/temporary?

What are the benefits/disadvantages of each?

Any comments/information/resources would be greatly appreciated.

[try-one]

The agency or umbrella option is not viable for a WP, you might get lucky and get the WP but then when you request the Entry clearance you could have problems. It could be a problem in the future.......
if you get HSMP, then you can be self employed, you can work for an umbrella, you can work for anyone you want, just remeber to pay your taxes and the PAYE (pay as you earn), after the initial 12 months of HSMP the PAYE is what shows that you were economically active.
Not the answers you needed, but some additional comments.....

[MWazir]

It depends on what you are looking out for. Contracts like you have mentioned bring in better remunerations sometimes almost twice the pay of the a permanent employee. On the downside, the contracts are generally short in nature, and you will be hunting for new contracts soon.

Permenant employees have their own advantages. While the pay might not be as good as contractual employees, they get benefits like pension, private medical insurance etc. When a company is downsizing its the contract workers who are in the more vurnable position.

As a self employed person, you are still earning money, paying your taxes and your NI. You have medical benefits regardless.

[zeke]

Greetings Once Again!

So, I if I want to do locum work, must I have HSMP and not WP?

From your answers, it seems that contract work considered to be self-employment. Is that correct?

One reason I am concerned about this is because I may be eligible to request urgent processing status on the basis of a written offer from my agency. But I don't know if HO will accept a letter verifying contract work. Or will HO only accept a letter verifying an offer of employment?

Does this make sense?

Thank you once again for your responses.

[try-one]

I could not find the post, but there is actually someone that reported he got the WP, then when he went to the british diplomatic post to get the EC, they took the WP from him and anulled it.
Basically, there is a specific reference in the law that states that WP can not be requested by an agency, you can not request a WP is you are an umbrella company.
You might be able to "trick" the Home Office into giving you the WP but this will affect you in the future, if you decide to apply for settlement, they could reject the application on the basis that you broke the immigration laws. It is not worth it, the risk of spending 4 years here for nothing is just not worth it, try and get a proper job offer and avoid the risks.
On the other hand, send an email to the hsmp team and ask them about agencies and the urgent treatment if you get an offer from one.....