Employment tax implications of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Deliveroo

Key points

• The Deliveroo dispute concerned the recognition of collective bargaining processes.
• The Court of Appeal decided the riders were not in an employment relationship with Deliveroo.
• The case raised the importance of substitution clauses in a contract.
• More clarity is needed about the status of workers in the gig economy.
• Measures needed to align the tax treatment of self-employed workers and employees.

On 24 June 2021 the decision in Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Central Arbitration Committee and Roofoods Ltd trading as Deliveroo was issued by the Court of Appeal (tinyurl.com/6zwuzzm7) after hearings in February 2021 and further submissions of evidence in March 2021.

While this is not a tax case it is important for employment tax practitioners to consider its implications especially with regard to substitution clauses in contracts. Unlike the Uber case – see ‘Taxi for...