A contractor, consultant or freelancer:
is self-employed
Self-employed workers are responsible for paying their own Income Tax and National Insurance.
provides services to your company for a negotiated fee
works for you for a limited time or on a specific project
gets paid after they’ve sent an invoice, not through your payroll
Your contracts for self-employed contractors (Consultancy Agreements) must be correctly written because if there’s a dispute, a court will look behind the terms on the contract to determine the true employment status of the worker.