Court Judgment On Status Of Employee

In a judgment delivered on the 30^th September 2020, the Court of Appeal confirmed a decision of the Industrial Tribunal ("the Tribunal") which had found that the relationship between the applicant and the defendant company was not one of employment.

The applicant had instituted proceedings before the Industrial Tribunal following the termination of his contract. He alleged that notwithstanding what his contract stated, he should be deemed an employee and therefore termination could only take place for a good and sufficient cause. Since the company had terminated his contract simply by giving notice according to the contract, he was therefore allegedly entitled to compensation for unfair dismissal. On the other hand the company argued that the relationship, as per the contract, was one of self-employment and consequently, the applicant had no right to claim compensation further to the notice which had been paid under the contract.