If they are genuinely freelance, no. However, HM Revenue and Customs decides this on a case-by-case basis, looking at a range of factors such as:
- Who controls when and how the work is done.
- Who carries the financial risk that the work will not be up to standard.
- Who provides and maintains items of equipment.
- Who decides where the work shall be done.
- Who carries the losses, if any.
- To what extent do the workers work exclusively for you.
If you control what the workers do, when they do it and how they do it, and if you carry the financial risks of the business, HMRC is likely to find that you employ them, whatever their employment contract (or lack of an employment contract) says about the matter. And if you employ them, you are responsible for their tax and NI.
