Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

IR35 employment status: Upper Tribunal upholds FTT in PD & MJ Ltd v HMRC, confirming Sky’s control and Atholl House/Barnes framework

Published on: 26 March 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

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UT dismisses IR35 appeal by Sky Sports pundit (PD & MJ Ltd v HMRC)

PD & MJ Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 94 (TCC). Mr Thompson featured for many years on Sky’s Soccer Saturday. Between 2013 and 2017, his work for Sky was delivered through the appellant company. HMRC concluded that the intermediaries rules in the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003), ss 48–61, governed the arrangements and therefore raised PAYE and NIC assessments on the company. The company appealed. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) rejected the appeal, applying the three-stage framework from HMRC v Atholl House Productions Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 501. The company then appealed to the Upper Tribunal (UT), alleging that the FTT committed errors of law at each stage. The UT started with stage one, namely construing the actual contract in place between Sky and the appellant. Under that agreement, Mr Thompson was to provide his services ‘on an ad hoc as and when required basis’. The FTT determined that this wording meant the services were...

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