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These are useful tests, but not always conclusive. The courts have their peculiar methods and those c##被过滤##idered most reliable are:
1. The control test - does one person have the right to control the work done by the other, as happens with employer and employee?
See Stephen v Thurso police commissioners (1876): Stephen was injured in an accident when he fell over some rubbish lying in the street. He maintained that the police should have had it cleared or at least marked with lights. The police claimed that they had instructed a contractor to remove the rubbish, and therefore the contractor was liable, not them. The court ruled, however, that since the police had retained control over the execution of the contractor’s work, they were liable in damages, as the contractor was, in effect, an employee.
In Scottish Insurance Commissioners v Church of Scotland (1914) the court was asked to rule on the position of assistant ministers of the church. It held that they were not employees since they were not subject to the direct control and direction of a master under a contract of service.
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