In the sports industry, who are the employers? Who are the employees? Who are the independent contractors? Who are on probation? An answer to the various questions helps situate us on the responsibilities/duties/obligations/and rights of the various players in the sports industry.
A. Who are the employers?
The employers in sports law and the sports industry generally are professional sports teams, sports organizations, and sports venues. As employers, they have their respective responsibilities and rights applicable to employers under a contract of employment. Some of these responsibilities include;
- The duty to procure work for the worker
- Duty to remunerate the worker
- Duty to indemnify the employee
- Duty to insure the worker
- Duty not to discriminate etc.
B. Who are the employees?
The employees in sports law and the sports industry generally are the athletes, the coaching staff, the security personnel, concessions team members, drivers, etc. As employees, they have the following duties to uphold;
- The duty to serve
- The duty of subordination
- The duty to indemnify
- The duty of fidelity
- Non-disclosure of employer’s confidential information etc.
C. Who are the Independent Contractors?
This is a person who undertakes to do a specific piece of work in return for a fixed price which shall be paid to him after delivery of the job. He is generally required to execute the job independently and through his own initiative either alone or with the assistance of persons and means put in place by him. He is bound only by general directives as to the nature of the finished product. He engages his know-how, skill, personality, and means in his own responsibility.
This is the case for athletes as they are recruited based on their talent and skill against remuneration.
D. Who is on Probation?
The labor code of Cameroon of 1992 just like its predecessor of 1974 did not really define probation. Section 28(1) of the labor code of Cameroon 1992 only stated that there shall be probationary hiring where prior to the signing of a final contract, the employer and the worker agree to appraise in particular the worker’s quality of service and his output and the working climate as concerns the employer.