A former fiddler for top country music star Michael English was awarded nearly €44,000 in the WRC for unfair dismissal and breaches of employment rights after a tribunal rejected claims that the musician was a contractor working “gig to gig” for six years

The Complainant is a musician (fiddler) who started providing his services to the Respondent band in January 2014. In May 2020, the Complainant contacted the Scope Section of the Department of Social Protection alleging that he believed he fitted the criteria for being an employee and was therefore eligible for the Pandemic Unemployment Payments. Scope determined that the Complainant was an employee for the purposes of social insurance. However, the Respondent successfully appealed this decision to the Appeals Officer.

The Complainant worked on average 4 days per week for the Respondent between rehearsals and gigs. He would send an invoice at the end of every week indicating the number of gigs he played. Apparently, the Complainant had negotiated his rate of pay with the Respondent. He was also free to play with other bands, which he did. He was also able to determine when he was or wasn’t available but he was only not available on 2 occasions.

When the Complainant was not available the Respondent would get someone else and pay that person directly. When the Complainant played with the Respondent, he had to wear the uniform of the band and he had to learn the music in advance. Due to the Covid-19 shut down, the Complainant had not played for the Respondent since March 2020 and he lodged his complainant form with the WRC on 4 March 2022. The Respondent alleged that all the claims were out of time.

AO Ms Reidy noted that the relationship between Mr McGranaghan and MEPC Music involved the weekly exchange of money for work as well as the provision of his personal services as the band’s “resident fiddle player” – with substitutes only an “exception”.

There was also sufficient control exercised by the employer to potentially qualify the relationship as employment, she wrote, as Mr McGranaghan had “no flexibility” on when he played with the band, wore a uniform, was told what to play, and took direction from the company.

On this basis, Ms Reidy ruled that Mr McGranaghan could not be a contractor and had been an employee of the company, giving her jurisdiction to rule on the ten employment rights complaints he had lodged. She also found Mr McGranaghan’s dismissal had been unfair and awarded the musician six months’ salary for his losses, a sum of €26,880, for the breach of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.

The finding was on the basis of an email to Mr McGranaghan on September 22nd 2021 telling the fiddler the company was “no longer using his services” and the company’s stated position that it was “treating him as a contractor and not an employee”.

• Employers need to be extremely careful in terms of who will qualify as an employee under their care, in terms of contracts, hours and reliance.