At first glance maybe not a lot. But Pimilco Plumbers has today lost an Appeal Court Case about employment status for one of its plumbers.
Case details are on the BBC and a full summary on the Appeal Courts website.
In this case the dispute was about employment rights, but it could easily have been a case about employment status for tax in terms of employs obligations to operate PAYE or IR35.
The agreement between Pimlico Plumbers and the worker included:
- Reference to “normal working hours”
- Compulsory “on call” times
- Requirement to wear Pimlico Plumbers logoed uniform
- Pimlico Plumbers issued mobile phone
- Hire of a van from Pimilco Plumbers
Clearly there were conversations and advice that the outside observer isn’t party to, but on the face of it those factors above paint a picture of someone who is employed not self employed, and certainly Whitefield as a firm would have flagged concerns if we learned that a client of ours was engaging self employed operatives on this basis.
So the relevance to Yoga Studios? Well, if you have Self Employed teachers, then the more control you exercise over what they do, the more likely you are to run into problems from disgruntled former workers or HMRC. Its worth taking a look at your working practices in light of this judgement, particularly uniform requirements and requirements to do reception shifts or similar, and the risk is much greater for teachers who work only in your studio and have a full schedule (although these factors aren’t definitive).
Theres a guide to employment status on our website, and some further guidance on the website of our parent Whitefield Tax
