Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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21. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an update on the work of the working group on bogus self-employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29896/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Determination of Employment Status Working Group was established on foot of a recommendation made at the Labour and Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) in late 2021.

This Group is comprised of representatives from ICTU, Ibec, the Construction Federation of Ireland and ISME as well as officials from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Revenue Commissioners, and the Department of Social Protection. The group has undertaken open and constructive discussions concerning false self-employment and given thorough consideration to a wide range of material and evidence presented to it.

The purpose of this Working Group is to examine issues around employment status, to consider the scale of misclassification, and to discuss the potential to improve systems by which correct employment status is determined. It is reconvening later today to consider the implications of Supreme Court judgement in the Karshan case.

Following that Supreme Court judgement, Revenue, in consultation with stakeholders, devised and published a Tax and Duty Manual on Determination of Employment Status to outline the tax implications of the case.

The Manual sets out the key elements of the judgment and its implications for businesses engaging employees, workers, contractors or sub-contractors and the Guidance includes a five step Decision Making Framework. It also provides 19 worked examples of how that framework applies.

I understand that work is also at an advanced stage in the Department of Social Protection in updating the Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status, in consideration of the Supreme Court ruling.

The Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status is the key guidance document for employers and workers and others in relation to deciding the employment status.

In addition, work is also ongoing in my Department to establish the Employment Law Review Group (ELRG) on a statutory basis. Once established, the ELRG will be a valuable asset in considering complex employment law questions, such as the broader issue of employment status.