Sport and employment law – the year in review 2019/20

Welcome to the employment section of LawInSport’s year in review series 2019/20. This section reflects on:

• the latest case law surrounding the question of employee status in sports – including the latest developments in the litigation involving British Cycling and Jess Varnish;
• the benefits of being an employee, specifically:
  • the right to maternity and paternity leave – including a look at recent collective bargaining agreements in various sports which are starting to cater for maternity rights;
  • equal pay – including a review of recent developments in Australian and US football; and
• the obligations of being an employee, specifically the obligation to follow lawful and reasonable instructions, including recent examples of how laws prohibiting the making of political statements have conflicted with certain high-profile football players’ support for anti-racism movements.