Gary Hughes, design engineer at JCB

Has a substitute ever actually worked in your place on this engagement?

No substitution has happened on this engagement

No substitution occurred. The tribunal recorded the substitution evidence as "confused", and Mr Hughes was never absent long enough to justify recruiting a replacement.

If you needed to send a substitute, could the client reject them?

No — any suitably qualified substitute would be accepted

Encoded as a client that would not reject. Mr Walton of JCB stated he never expected Mr Hughes "to give his personal service to carry out the job", and that JCB would give the agency its requirements and expect the agency to match them.

Would you pay that substitute yourself (out of your own fee)?

Yes, I would pay the substitute from my own fee

Paragraph 4.11 of the contract obliged the contractor to provide a suitably qualified replacement if prevented by illness or injury from performing the services, which places the cost on the intermediary rather than on JCB.

Can the client move you to different tasks or work areas on this engagement?

Yes, with my agreement

Inferred. He was recruited for specific projects because of a shortage of skilled manpower, and JCB set requirements through the agency. The judgment makes no express finding on moving him to unrelated work.

Who decides how you do your work — the methods and approach you use?

I agree how to do it with others (client team, colleagues)

Inferred. He was a senior design engineer of equivalent skill to the employed engineers, working within teams alongside them, so method was settled collaboratively rather than dictated or wholly unsupervised.

Who controls when you work — the days and hours?

I decide my own working schedule

An express finding, and a strong one. Although the paperwork stated fixed hours, the tribunal found he "never worked fixed hours", started around 7:30am, left later, and "could work whatever hours he wished without seeking permission", informing management only as a courtesy. It expressly noted this flexibility "was not open to the employees".

Who decides where you carry out the work?

I cannot choose — I must work at the client's location

He worked at JCB, which provided a desk, computer, phone line and a jcb.com email address.

Did you purchase and supply significant raw materials for this work?

No

Did you provide significant specialist equipment of your own for this work?

No

The most contestable answer in this case, and it decides the result. Mr Hughes took in his own calculator, micrometer, steel rule and measuring tape. Encoded false because the CEST equipment question is directed at significant equipment a worker must buy rather than small hand tools, and answering true would trigger an immediate early exit to outside IR35 on this factor alone. A reader who takes the opposite view should know that it flips this case.

Did you use your own vehicle as a primary work tool on this engagement?

No

Did you incur significant other work-related expenses at your own risk?

Yes

Unlike JCB employees, and apart from a high-visibility jacket, he had to provide his own clothing including a fleece, safety shoes, a woolly hat and a waterproof jacket. He was also barred from the stationery cupboard that employees used.

Are significant work expenses simply not applicable to this type of role?

No — expenses could be relevant but I didn't have them

How are you mainly paid for this work?

Per time period — a weekly or monthly rate

He agreed an hourly rate with the agency and "was throughout paid for the hours worked, nothing more, nothing less", supported by a weekly timesheet signed off by JCB management.

If you delivered substandard work, what would happen?

Fixing it would be covered within my normal rate

Inferred from the finding that he was paid for the hours worked and nothing more or less, so time spent correcting work would have been paid at the usual rate.

Do you receive employee-type benefits from the client?

No

Express finding: contractors were "not entitled to the benefits of holiday pay, sick pay, or membership of the pension scheme", were outside the grievance and disciplinary procedures, and did not take part in the appraisal scheme.

Do you manage any of the client's employees — acting as their line manager?

No

Do you have direct contact with the client's customers or end clients?

No

Inferred. The engagement was internal design engineering work at JCB, and the judgment records no dealings with JCB customers.

Is the client obliged to offer you work, and are you obliged to accept it, throughout this engagement?

No — either party can stop without obligationCEST does not assess this

Inferred. Work was supplied through an agency on an hourly basis against timesheets, and the judgment records no obligation on JCB to offer work.

When this contract ends, would you be surprised if the client did not offer you more work or extend?

Yes — I expect it to continue and would be surprised if it didn'tCEST does not assess this

A series of engagements ran across the tax years ended 5 April 2003 to 5 April 2007.

Are you working for multiple clients simultaneously, or have you actively marketed your services to others in the past 12 months?

No — this client is my only engagementCEST does not assess this

Encoded false, and it is the weakest answer in this case. The judgment describes a continuous run of engagements at JCB across five tax years and records no other client, but the absence of a finding is not the same as a finding of exclusivity.

Do you hold professional indemnity or public liability insurance in your own name or through your company?

NoCEST does not assess this

Not established by the judgment. Encoded false rather than assumed. Verdict-only field, so it does not affect the CEST result.