Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Bottrill: EAT 28 May 1998

There is no rule of law to suggest that a sole director and owner of majority of shareholding could not be an employee and entitled to redundancy payment on the liquidation of the company. ‘The higher courts have taken the view that the issue as to whether a person is or is not an employee is a pure question of fact. The shareholding of a person in the company by which he alleges he was employed is a factor to be taken into account, because it might tend to establish either that the company was a mere simulacrum or that the contract under scrutiny was a sham. In our judgment it would be wrong to say that a controlling shareholder who, as such, ultimately had the power to prevent his own dismissal by voting his shares to replace the board, was outside the class of persons given rights under the Act of 1996 on an insolvency.’

Judges:

Morison J

Citations:

Gazette 28-May-1998, [1998] IRLR 120

Statutes:

Employment Rights Act 1996 213

Cited by:

Appeal fromSecretary of State for Trade and Industry v Bottrill CA 12-Feb-1999
There is no rule of law, to suggest that a sole director and owner of majority of shareholding, could not be an employee of that company, and be entitled to a redundancy payment on the liquidation of the company. ‘If the tribunal considers that the . .
CitedUltraframe UK Limited v Clayton, Fielding and Others ChD 3-Oct-2002
The claimants asserted infringement of their registered design rights in parts used in their double glazing and conservatory units. ‘Therefore it is possible for design right to subsist in the design of the part of the article which is not excluded . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment

Updated: 10 April 2022; Ref: scu.89124