The Recharacterisation Of Employment – A Reality

A preliminary ruling given by the Industrial Tribunal on the 15^th of December 2020 in the case of Bourgeais vs. Sara Grech Ltd.¹, has shed some well needed light on the matter of recharacterisation of employment in terms of the Employment Status National Standard Order, Subsidiary Legislation ('SL') 452.108².

This case was filed against Sara Grech Limited (a real estate agency), where an ex-employee sought to request the Tribunal to declare the recharacterisation of her arrangement with the company and to also deem the termination of her employment as being unjust at law.

From the proceedings, it transpired that Ms. Bourgeais had two contracts with the company, one dated 4^th September 2013 and the other dated 29^th February 2016. These agreements were in fact 'sub-agency agreements', whereby the company was the agent and Ms. Bourgeais was the sub-agent. Having said this, Ms. Bourgeais claimed that the agreement was of an employment nature. The relationship