Overseas Workers and Tribunal Claims

Originally published September 2004

If workers are employed abroad by a British company, can they make tribunal claims in Britain? As companies expand overseas this question is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately changes to the law in 1999 created considerable uncertainty and although guiding principles are now starting to emerge from the cases, this is an area where expert advice is usually needed.

One problem in this area is that different rules apply to different types of employment claim. In unfair dismissal cases the test is whether the employee was ‘employed in Great Britain’ at the time of dismissal (see Lawson v Serco). This test puts the emphasis on where the employee actually works, rather than where he lives, the terms of his contract or his employer’s base.