Employment Status – Stringfellows Stripped Bare?

Following our surprisingly well read piece on the case of Quashie v Stringfellows Restaurants last November, we thought you might like to take a peep at the latest instalment following the Employment Appeal Tribunal's (EAT) decision on Quashie's appeal¹. As you may remember, the case concerned the question of whether a dancer at Stringfellows was an employee or self-employed. Not only does the EAT decision contain a useful example of what the tribunals are keen to see when determining this often difficult issue, but it also gives us an opportunity to do another slightly cheeky article too.

By way of a stripped down summary of the facts, Quashie claimed she was unfairly dismissed and Stringfellows defended the allegation by arguing she was not an employee and therefore did not have this right. At the tribunal, the finding was that she was not an employee as there was no 'mutuality of obligation' between the parties for two very good reasons. Firstly, there was no