Class analysis and the contract of employment

The aim of the article is to establish how class analysis has underpinned common law contract of employment cases. It was axiomatic that judges would turn to class analysis in this field of law. For, in each case, the question that had to be resolved was whether someone was an employee or independent contractor. These two groups shared many similar characteristics and in order to settle a case people had to be put in their right class and this factor drove judges to engage in class analysis. The article will pinpoint how the successive rules that have evolved to distinguish whether a person was an employee or independent contractor casts a light on how sociological forces have played a fundamental role in shaping legal tests in labour contract law.