Paul acted for the Claimant in a claim for unfair dismissal and holiday pay. The matter was listed for a preliminary hearing to determine whether the Claimant, who had been classed as self-employed for Tax and VAT purposes for over twenty years, was an employee, a worker or self-employed.
In order to determine the employment status of an individual (as with the recent ‘gig-economy’ cases) the Tribunal is required to consider a range of factors including the degree of control exercised by the ‘employer’, whether the worker undertakes to provide his own work and skill and tools of the trade, and, to a limited extent, the labels given to the relationship by the parties.
In addition, a determination of employee status may have implications as regards the parties’ historic tax arrangements.
Following negotiations at the door of the Tribunal, the matter was settled on a confidential basis with a payment to the Claimant and an agreed reference.
