Elite Athletes and Worker Status
Leanne O’Leary,
Maximillian Seltmann and
Vanja Smokvina
Industrial Law Journal, 2025, vol. 54, issue 2, 248-277
Abstract:
Recent research regarding the working conditions of elite athletes in Olympic sports in the European Union, Norway and the UK shows that most athletes are not in an employment relationship with a sports stakeholder such as a National Olympic Committee, sports governing body or club because legislation at a national level or the terms of a contract preclude their status as employees or workers. Elite athletes who are excluded from employee or worker status do not have access to valuable social and employment benefits and protections, for example, a pension entitlement or maternity benefits. This article highlights the complex contractual situation of elite athletes who are integrated into a national elite sports programme and the regulatory and legal frameworks in which they provide services during an athletic career and posits that elite athletes are workers irrespective of an athlete’s legal status designated under national law or contract.
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:indlaw:v:54:y:2025:i:2:p:248-277.
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