The footballer, Neil McCann, has lost his £190k IR35 case. The First Tier Tribunal has ruled that the services McCann provided to Sky were under a contract of employment and that he would be regarded for income tax purposes as an employee.
McCann argued he was not employed on the basis that:
- the contract with Sky stating that there was no employment agreement and that they did not create or imply any mutuality of obligations,
- he could decline work from Sky,
- he had other roles (e.g., as interim manager at Dundee FC),
- he didn't get paid unless he worked, and
- if he was fined by Ofcom – he paid the fine not Sky
The FTT applied the three-stage test in the ready-Mixed Concrete [1968] case, concluding that the contract was a contract of employment, because:
- Sky had ‘sufficient degree of control’ as Sky decided the roles to be performed by everyone involved in the show
- McCann had to work within the agreed format of the programme
- there were restrictions on his non-Sky work (e.g., re use of social media and he could not work for competing broadcasters.)
21 March 2022 
Andrea Marshall, Tax Specialist
