UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
7.2 Employer/Employee Rights Statutory Employment Law
Since 31 December 2020, the UK has no longer been subject to free movement rules and all for - eigners (including EEA citizens) require a per - mit to work in the UK, except for Irish nation - als. However, EEA nationals (and certain others) who were already residing in the UK could apply for “settled status” under the EU Settlement Scheme, which allowed these individuals to remain in the UK indefinitely. Obtaining a Work Permit Foreign athletes (and other sporting staff) gen - erally need a work permit issued by the Home Office in order to be permitted to work in the UK. As such, arrangements are often made between the Home Office and the relevant sports govern - ing bodies. This commonly involves a sports governing body granting a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE), depending on whether the athlete meets certain criteria agreed in advance with the Home Office. Where a GBE is granted, the athlete is then usually granted a work permit by the Home Office without the need for further analysis to be undertaken. International Sportsperson Visa As of October 2021, international athletes com - ing to the UK are also able to apply for an Inter - national Sportsperson Visa. This has replaced both the T2 and T5 visas and collated both requirements together. The Sports Governing Bodies appendix, located within this new set of rules, sets out the sporting organisations that can issue an endorsement to certify an athlete as meeting the visa requirements. The sportsper - son must also be issued with a valid certificate of sponsorship by the sponsoring club. In light of Brexit, and in advance of the January 2021 transfer window, the FA agreed with the UK
Where UK athletes are employees (see 7.1 Sports-Related Contracts of Employment ), the right not to be unfairly dismissed, family rights including maternity leave, and the right not to be subjected to discrimination, will generally override any contradictory provisions in their contract. It is fairly standard, however, for UK sporting employment contracts to require disputes to be addressed via a bespoke dispute resolution forum, such as Sport Resolutions, which can be an effective method for an athlete to enforce Under his employment contract with Newcastle United FC, former manager Kevin Keegan had the final say in recruiting players. When in prac - tice this did not happen, he resigned, claiming that he had been constructively unfairly dis - missed (ie, that the club’s actions constituted a repudiatory breach of contract, entitling him to treat the contract as having been terminated by the club). In 2009, the Premier League Manag - ers’ Arbitration Tribunal found in Mr Keegan’s favour and awarded him compensation for con - structive unfair dismissal. 7.3 Free Movement of Athletes Brexit and Free Movement When the UK was a member state of the EU, citi - zens of the EEA enjoyed the right of free move - ment and, as such, UK sports governing bodies could not impose restrictions on the number of EEA citizens they allowed to compete in their competitions, or to be included within a club’s squad. their statutory employment rights. Constructive Dismissal Case Study
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