Dominos drivers landmark judgement on bogus self employment

Labour workers’ rights spokesperson Marie Sherlock has described the ruling that Dominos pizza drivers were employees as a landmark moment on bogus self employment.

In a decision delivered today, the Supreme Court has found that the delivery drivers should be treated as employees and not contractors in a decision which has important implications for workers in the gig economy.

The case concerned delivery drivers engaged under contracts in 2010/2011 by Karshan (Midlands) Ltd, trading as Domino’s Pizza.

The drivers argued there 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.

The Revenue Commissioners sought and were granted a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

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

Commenting following the decision, Senator Sherlock said:

“This is a landmark judgement when it comes to tackling bogus self employment, and determining who is and who is not an employee.

“Credit to the Revenue Commission for taking and persevering with this hugely important case.

“The precedent today’s judgement has set down will be massive for all working people who are victims of bogus self employment.

“Employers, who force workers into disguised self-employed arrangements when those same workers are, for all intents and purposes direct employees in all but name, deprive workers of both their rights as workers and their social welfare entitlements.

“This behaviour also cheats the State out of tens of millions in lost PRSI income and tax revenue, which means less money for social welfare and for our hospitals and schools.

“These practices are well known in construction, and the phenomenon has spread to sectors including food, tourism, IT, media and culture, transport and logistics and finance and law.

“The Dominos workers are the real winners today, but it shouldn’t take a very long and expensive litigation process to determine employment status.

“The very fact that this case had to go as far as the Supreme Court beggars belief.

“Labour introduced legislation in 2021 to stamp out bogus self employment, automatically designating all workers as employees unless they opt out. Today’s judgement must act as an impetus to Minister Coveney to tackle this once and for all.”