Table 3 Questions to determine... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Questions to determine employment status

Questions	Guidance
1. Does the contract involve the exchange of wage or other remuneration for work?	These first three questions should be viewed as a filter in the form of preliminary questions which, if any one is answered negatively means that there can be no contract of employment, but if all are answered affirmatively, allow the interrogation of all of the facts and circumstances to ascertain the true nature of the relationship
2. If so, is the agreement one pursuant to which the worker is agreeing to provide their own services, and not those of a third party, to the employer?
3. If so, does the employer exercise sufficient control over the putative employee to render the agreement one that is capable of being an employment agreement?
4. If these three requirements are met the decision maker must then determine whether the terms of the contract between employer and worker interpreted in the light of the admissible factual matrix and having regard to the working arrangements between the parties as disclosed by the evidence, are consistent with a contract of employment, or with some other form of contract having regard, in particular, to whether the arrangements point to the putative employee working for themselves or for the putative employer
5. Finally, it should be determined whether there is anything in the particular legislative regime under consideration that requires the court to adjust or supplement any of the foregoing

Questions	Guidance
1. Does the contract involve the exchange of wage or other remuneration for work?	These first three questions should be viewed as a filter in the form of preliminary questions which, if any one is answered negatively means that there can be no contract of employment, but if all are answered affirmatively, allow the interrogation of all of the facts and circumstances to ascertain the true nature of the relationship
2. If so, is the agreement one pursuant to which the worker is agreeing to provide their own services, and not those of a third party, to the employer?
3. If so, does the employer exercise sufficient control over the putative employee to render the agreement one that is capable of being an employment agreement?
4. If these three requirements are met the decision maker must then determine whether the terms of the contract between employer and worker interpreted in the light of the admissible factual matrix and having regard to the working arrangements between the parties as disclosed by the evidence, are consistent with a contract of employment, or with some other form of contract having regard, in particular, to whether the arrangements point to the putative employee working for themselves or for the putative employer
5. Finally, it should be determined whether there is anything in the particular legislative regime under consideration that requires the court to adjust or supplement any of the foregoing

Source(s): Text of the Karshan judgement can be accessed at: pdf (courts.ie)