What you were told you are
The sentence on the document, the categories it might mean, and how little the word itself settles.
What does the word on my contract actually mean?
What you signedIs that the same thing the tax office thinks I am?
The law where you areCan they change it later without asking me?
What you signedDid I have any choice about it at all?
Four questions a person in this position actually asks. One of them has no answer anybody can give in advance, and nothing here fills a blank with a guess. All four arrive on the first day and not one of them is answered on it.
The Word on Your Contract
One word on a document decides a great deal and settles almost nothing, because what happens week to week usually outweighs what you were called.
The Categories That Actually Exist
Two boxes is the wrong picture almost everywhere: many systems have a middle category, and knowing which exist where you work changes what to ask.
Who Decided This, and When
Your status was settled by somebody on the other side, usually before you were in the room, for reasons about their systems rather than about you.
Reading What You Signed
Six clauses decide nearly everything that will matter to you, and they can be found in twenty minutes without understanding the rest of the document.
Can They Change It Later?
Arrangements get restructured for reasons on their side, and whether they can simply do it depends on what you signed and on where you work.
What the Advert Said
The gap between how work was described when they wanted you and how it was papered afterwards is information, and the listing soon disappears.
Being Told You Have a Choice
An offer of two forms is sometimes a real choice and sometimes a formality, and the way to tell is whether both options come with real numbers.