Control: who decides how the work is done
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Control asks whether the client directs how, when and where the work is done — or just accepts deliverables. Modern status cases weight it less mechanically than the old textbooks, but it still anchors most SDS disputes.
The spectrum
- Deliverable-led ("migrate these 40 workflows by Q3, your method") — strongly outside
- Method-constrained ("use our SDLC, attend stand-ups") — grey; common in agile programmes
- Supervised ("the line manager assigns daily tasks") — inside-shaped
Why agile complicates it
Stand-ups, sprint planning and Jira boards look like supervision but are often just programme hygiene. Tribunals ask whether the engagement could have been delivered without that choreography — a contractor integrating with a client's process for coordination is different from an employee being managed.
Practical evidence
Keep the SDS, the contract, and any written scope. Ads that say "you will report to the Head of Change and work as part of the PMO" read very differently from "deliver the target operating model; the steering group reviews at each gate". The board shows the literal wording on every listing.
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More in this cluster: evidence checklist · how we classify · the live board