What tests are used to distinguish an independent contractor from an employee?

It is well established in Irish law that no matter what is agreed verbally or in writing between two parties, whether it be a contract of service (as with an employee) or a contract for services (as with a contractor), a court, tribunal or administrative body will look at the facts of a situation and determine each case on the reality of the relationship between the parties, i.e. not what they say, but what they do. The status of an individual is, therefore, a question of substance, not form.

In Henry Denny & Sons Ltd. T/A Kerry Foods v The Minister for Social Welfare 1997, the Supreme Court decided that the fundamental test as to whether a person has been engaged to perform certain