The UK Supreme Court today ruled that referees for English football games can legally be considered employees. The ruling means that Professional Group Match Officials Ltd, the company that manages referees in the highest levels of English football, will have to deduct income tax and National Insurance from referees’ pay.

Andrew Willis, Associate Director of Legal at Croner, says “This case is another in a long line of cases which relate to the determination of employment status. It shows that a tribunal will look beyond what the parties label an individual, to consider what is actually happening in practice, and it will apply the usual tests to determine status.

“Here the Supreme Court held that the minimum requirements of mutuality of obligation and control necessary for a contract of employment were satisfied so the case will now be remitted to the First Tier Tribunal for a decision on whether the individual contracts were, therefore, contracts of employment.

“It’s important for businesses to correctly identify the status of those working for them because it impacts what rights the individual has. If an individual is labelled incorrectly, they could be denied their rights.

“It’s also important for businesses to keep an eye on this area of law. This is because the new Labour government has said that they plan to launch a consultation at some point in the future to consider moving towards a single status of worker. If it progresses it would mean a transition away from a three-tier system of employees, self-employed and workers, to a framework that just differentiates between workers and the genuinely self-employed.”