UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
Domestic sports governing bodies may seek to give worldwide effect to their decisions through co-operation with international federations. In the case of footballer Kieran Trippier (referred to in 1.3 Betting ), he was sanctioned under both the FA’s Regulatory Commission and the FIFA Disciplinary Code. National Court Involvement The decision taken by the judicial body of a sports governing body can be challenged in the national court system on limited grounds. It was confirmed that the national court system has a supervisory role in Bradley v Jockey Club. Judicial bodies of sports governing bodies are held to the following standards by the national court system: • the relevant regulatory or contractual frame - work gave the judicial body the authority and power to act as it did; • the judicial body did not abuse its power; • the decision that was reached was rational; and • the judicial body acted fairly with regard to the process by which a decision was taken (in accordance with the principles of natural justice).
terms (ie, remuneration, the contract’s duration and any bespoke provisions pertaining to use of the athlete’s image) usually negotiated directly between the athlete and the club. Under English law, an employee accrues a range of legal rights. Where workers are not classi - fied as employees, this status can be deemed dependent on circumstances designed to ensure employees cannot be cheated out of their rights simply by terminology. The Employment Appeal Tribunal’s 2020 deci - sion regarding cyclist Jessica Varnish’s failed claim that she should be deemed an employee of British Cycling, gives a helpful summary of some key considerations determining employee status: • Ms Varnish signed an athlete agreement with British Cycling, the purpose of which was to provide her with a personalised training plan, in the hope that she would be selected to compete for Great Britain; • although the arrangement made her eligible to receive certain funding from UK Sport, Ms Varnish did not receive any remuneration from British Cycling and the arrangement with UK Sport was more analogous to a university grant; and • Ms Varnish did not perform a service for Brit - ish Cycling (or UK Sport), but instead was performing a commitment to train in the hope of becoming a successful cyclist on the inter - national stage. This is by no means an exhaustive analysis of the determinative factors for employment status, which is a notoriously uncertain concept in the UK.
7. Employment 7.1 Sports-Related Employment Contracts Employment Status
In many elite team sports in the UK, athletes are employed by their club under contracts of employment. Such arrangements typically include a number of standard terms agreed on a collective basis between relevant player unions, clubs and governing bodies, with commercial
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