CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
JURISDICTIONAL POINTS – Working outside the jurisdiction
The Claimant is a British citizen and his home is in the United Kingdom. He was recruited in the United Kingdom pursuant to an offer letter dated 26 July 2011. It offered the position of Finance Director subject to receipt of satisfactory references and an appropriate work permit/visa from Kazakhstan. The Claimant then travelled to Kazakhstan, where he signed a number of agreements with the Second Respondent.
In May 2013 the Claimant was asked to leave his office and returned to the UK. He was then effectively suspended for approximately 200 days. He was dismissed with notice in September 2013. He brought a claim in the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal, including a contention that he had been dismissed for making protected disclosures.
The Employment Tribunal held a preliminary hearing. It found that the agreements were not all consistent with each other. The Employment Tribunal found that there had been a ‘contractual disguise’ and that the true position was that the Claimant was employed by the Second Respondent in circumstances in which there was a sufficiently strong connection with Great Britain for there to be jurisdiction in this country. The Employment Tribunal also found that there was no contract with the First Respondent and that it was not necessary to imply one. It also rejected the contention that the Claimant had been employed on an agency basis by the First Respondent.
The Second Respondent appealed against the finding that the Employment Tribunal had jurisdiction. The Claimant cross-appealed against the finding that he was not employed by the First Respondent. Held, (1) the cross-appeal would be dismissed. The Employment Tribunal correctly understood the relevant legal principles as to the implication of a contract and then applied those principles to the facts as it found them to be. On the evidence it was entitled to reach the conclusion that the Claimant was not employed and that there was no contract with the First Respondent. (2) The Second Respondent’s appeal would be allowed and the case remitted to a different Employment Judge for reconsideration. The Employment Tribunal had fallen into a number of different errors in its approach. It had misconstrued the relevant agreements. It had not considered all of the relevant circumstances in order to address the question whether the Claimant had a sufficiently close connection to Great Britain for there to be jurisdiction. Accordingly the matter would have to be reconsidered in accordance with the correct approach as a matter of law.
[2015] UKEAT 0161 – 15 – 1612
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 17 January 2022; Ref: scu.565093
