'Hard to envisage' why State agencies disagree on postmasters' employment status, report finds

Ireland’s 850-plus postmasters function as self-employed workers under a contract with An Post for the operation of each individual post office, according to a 1979 agreement between the Department  of Social Protection, An Post, and the Postmasters Union. File photo

A confidential consultants’ report has called into question how two Irish State agencies have been unable to agree whether or not postmasters should be self-employed, describing the situation as “hard to envisage”.

The report, prepared for the Irish Postmasters’ Union by consultants Grant Thornton, notes that the Department of Social Protection currently considers postmasters to be full employees in terms of their social insurance contributions, while the Revenue Commissioners treats them as being self-employed for the purposes of income tax and the universal social charge.