Employment status of football referees

Professional Game Match Officials (PGMOL) provides referees and other officials for the Premier League English Football League and Football Association competitions. Some of the referees are full-time employees but most are part-time. The issue was whether the part-time referees were employees (ITEPA 2003 s 4(1)(a)).

PGMOL said there was no contract between it and the referees. It was ‘simply managing the interactions between them and the competitions’. There was no mutuality of obligation or control. Its role was to provide a service to the Football Association and competitions to supply referees.

HMRC said they were employees.

The First-tier Tribunal found there was a contractual relationship between PGMOL and the referees. The organisation’s constitution and accounts were established ‘to provide the services of match officials to the competitions’. It had to engage the referees to provide these services. Further its budgeting and accounting was consistent with this.

Noting...