Employment tax: implications of the Supreme Court Mencap decision

The decision in the double case of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad was handed down on 19 March 2021 having been heard at the Supreme Court in February 2020. It was delayed in part due to the death on 1 December 2020 of the presiding judge Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore. The judiciary was deemed to be quorate under section 43(2) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 so the decision was then handed down by the four remaining judges led by Lady Arden. Both appeals were dismissed.

Background

This is a decision based on two cases (tinyurl.com/ufjpbahs) involving similar disputes. In Royal Mencap Society (Respondent) v Tomlinson-Blake (Appellant) Mrs Tomlinson-Blake a care worker who had worked for Mencap for 13 years between 2004 and 2017 provided care to two individuals in their own home. As well as providing...