EAT Contract of Employment : Whether Established – The Claimant worked in a World Duty Free outlet at an airport, selling Shiseido cosmetic products airside. Her security clearance to do so was withdrawn by R1, and she claimed that she had thereby been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against. To claim this she had to show that she was an employee or worker, to do which required her to show that she had a contract with R1, or with R2 if employed by them, by which she undertook to work personally for that party. The Employment Tribunal found she could not do so, because she provided her services through a limited company which she had incorporated for the purpose (and her relationship with that company need to be, but never was, established in evidence). They were provided to R2 whose role was in effect that of an agent supplying workers to a third party (Shiseido) to work in retail space controlled by R1. There was thus no contract between C and either R1 or R2. The ET found that the arrangements were such that C was not required to work personally at her job, but could get another person to substitute for her: a power which was not merely theoretical, since she had in fact exercised it. It might appear to a member of the public passing through the airport that she appeared to be working exactly as any employee would, and for that reason the appeal had been permitted to proceed to a full hearing. However, it was held that on existing appellate authority, which was unaffected by European law, she could not have had a contract of employment with either R1 or R2, since she had a contract with neither; nor could she be a ‘worker’ since that too required (i) a contract, under which (ii) she agreed to work personally.
Langstaff P J
[2013] UKEAT 0166 – 13 – 0410
Bailii
Equality Act 2010
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Halawi v WDFG UK Ltd (T/A World Duty Free) CA 28-Oct-2014
The claimant said that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of her religion. She worked as a beauty consultant at the airport, but through a limited company. Her airside pass had been withdrawn. She now appealed against rejection of her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 26 November 2021; Ref: scu.518532