Part-time officials, full-time implications – Analysis of the HMRC v PGMOL cases

In September the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v Professional Game Match Officials Ltd [2024] UKSC 29 (PGMOL), concerning the employment status of part-time football referees. The issue for the court was whether these referees, who officiate for a fixed fee per game mainly in leagues below the Premier League, should be classified as employees for tax purposes as this would determine the treatment of income for the purposes of income tax and national insurance contributions.

The Court agreed with HMRC that referees could indeed potentially be employees for each specific match engagement. The case has been remitted back to the First-tier Tribunal to reconsider the employment status (or otherwise) of the referees in the light of the Supreme Court’s guidance.

The article analyses the court's decision and the reasoning adopted. its broader implications, particularly for the sports industry. It considers how the Supreme Court's ruling, which favoured HMRC's position that referees could potentially be considered employees for individual matches, might impact other sports organizations that use similar payment structures.

• Background
• The Supreme Court’s Decision
  • Mutuality of Obligation
  • Control
• Comment
  • Change brewing
  • Back-to-back engagements
  • Payments
  • Internal Reviews