"Delivery drivers for pizza restaurant should be treated as employees, not contractors, Supreme Court finds", 20 Oct 2023

The Supreme Court has found that delivery drivers for a pizza restaurant should be treated as employees and not contractors.

The decision has important implications for workers in the gig economy.

The case concerned delivery drivers engaged under contracts in 2010/11 by Karshan (Midlands) Ltd, trading as Domino's Pizza.

The drivers argued they were employees for tax purposes and Karshan said they were independent contractors under "contracts for service".

Karshan had appealed a 2018 decision of a Tax Appeals Commissioner that the delivery drivers should be treated as PAYE workers.

The High Court rejected that appeal, but the Court of Appeal (CoA), in a 2-1 majority, overturned that decision...

In a unanimous decision today on Friday, a seven-judge Supreme Court overturned the CoA decision.

Giving the court's decision, Mr Justice Brian Murray said central to the appeal was whether it was necessary, to the establishment of the employment relationship, that there be a requirement that the employer and worker owe each other certain "mutual obligations"...

Mr Justice Murray said there was no such requirement in Irish law.

He said the question of whether a contract is one "of" or "for" services should – having regard to well-established case law – be resolved by reference to five questions...

The evidence disclosed "close control" by Karshan over the drivers when they work...

In observations accompanying the judgment, Mr Justice Murray said it must be stated that the finding that the drivers were employees did not, and cannot, bind any driver who may wish to contend that, in fact, they were not an employee for this or any other purpose. The question of whether drivers have continuous service for the purpose of other legislation, and in particular employment rights legislation, cannot be decided here, he said...