Claims Setback For Fox Cross

The majority of Local Authorities in Scotland operate Arms Length External Organisations ("ALEOs"). Audit Scotland defines ALEOs as "companies, trusts and other bodies that are separate from the local authority but are subject to local authority control or influence". Common services provided by ALEOs are leisure facilities, cleaning and car parking.

In its judgment in Armstrong and Others v Glasgow City Council and Others, the Glasgow Employment Tribunal concluded that ALEOs which are Limited Liability Partnerships ("LLPs") are not "associated employers" for the purposes of section 1(6) of the Equal Pay Act 1970 ("EPA"). Section 1(6) of the EPA provides that two employers are to be treated as associated if "one is a company over which the other (directly or indirectly) has control or both are companies of which a third person (directly or indirectly) has control". "Company" is not defined by the EPA, however, the Companies Act 2006 identifies types of company as