Glossary

Sorted A–Z. If we use a term anywhere on the site without explaining it, tell us at create@ftjdesigns.co.uk and we'll add it.

ACAS

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Free, independent and impartial. You normally have to notify ACAS for Early Conciliation before you can take an employment tribunal claim — usually within three months less one day of the act you are complaining about.

Class 2 National Insurance

A flat weekly NI contribution for the self-employed. From April 2024 it is no longer compulsory if your profits are above the small profits threshold, but you can still pay it voluntarily to protect your State Pension and contributory benefits like Maternity Allowance.

Class 4 National Insurance

Profit-based NI for the self-employed, charged through Self Assessment alongside income tax. It does not, on its own, build State Pension entitlement.

Deactivation

When a platform switches off your account so you can no longer accept work. Often dressed up as a Supplier Agreement termination or a Community Guidelines breach. May be appealable; sometimes challengeable as unlawful detriment if you have limb (b) status.

Employee

Section 230(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Full employment rights including unfair dismissal protection (after two years), redundancy pay and statutory sick pay. Almost no gig platform classifies its workers this way.

Gig platform

A digital intermediary that connects workers to one-off jobs — Uber, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Amazon Flex, Bolt, Stuart and similar. Worker status varies by platform and by court ruling.

Limb (b) worker

Section 230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Not employed, not genuinely self-employed. Entitled to the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday (5.6 weeks pro rata), rest breaks and protection from discrimination. Uber drivers are limb (b) following Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5.

Maternity Allowance (MA)

A weekly payment for pregnant women who are self-employed or do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay. Up to 39 weeks. You usually need to have paid Class 2 NI in 13 of the 66 weeks before your due date for the full standard rate.

MTD (Making Tax Digital) for Income Tax

HMRC's plan to make sole traders and landlords above the income threshold keep digital records and submit quarterly updates through compatible software. From April 2026 for those with income above £50,000; £30,000 from April 2027.

PHV (private hire vehicle)

A licensed minicab, as distinct from a hackney carriage (black cab). Outside London, licensed under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976; in London, under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 by Transport for London; in Scotland, under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

Self-employed

Genuinely running your own business — choose your hours, your prices, who you work for, and bear the financial risk. No employment-rights protection. Many gig workers are misclassified as self-employed when they are really limb (b) workers.

SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay)

Paid by employers to qualifying employees for up to 39 weeks. Self-employed gig workers do not get SMP — they should look at Maternity Allowance instead.

Trading allowance

A £1,000 tax-free allowance for self-employment income. If your gross self-employed income is £1,000 or less in the tax year, you may not need to register for Self Assessment. Above that, you can deduct the £1,000 instead of claiming actual expenses.

Tribunal (employment tribunal)

An independent judicial body that hears claims about employment rights — unlawful deductions, unfair dismissal, discrimination, holiday pay. ACAS Early Conciliation must usually come first. Strict three-month-less-one-day deadlines.

UC Minimum Income Floor (MIF)

A Universal Credit rule that assumes self-employed claimants earn at least the equivalent of working full-time at the National Minimum Wage, even if they actually earn less. After a 12-month start-up period. Several reliefs apply (sickness, caring, pregnancy).

Worker status

The legal category that determines what employment rights you have: employee, limb (b) worker, or genuinely self-employed. The label on your contract is not decisive — the courts look at the reality of the relationship (Autoclenz v Belcher [2011]).