Cricket Club Groundsman Required To Provide Personal Service Was Self-employed

• Published date: 02 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Contract of Employment, Unfair/ Wrongful Dismissal
• Law Firm: Wrigleys Solicitors
• Author: Ms Alacoque Marvin

Claimant was in business on his own account and not entitled to holiday pay or notice pay.

There have been a number of high profile cases dealing with employment status and associated rights in the last few years. Not least of these is the long-running case of Smith v Pimlico Plumbers, on which we recently reported the latest Supreme Court judgment: Self-employed contractor found to be a worker can claim for all unpaid holiday pay on termination (available from our website).

Key questions for courts and tribunals in these cases include the following, based on the statutory definition of a "worker":

• Whether the individual undertakes under the contract to perform work personally (rather than being able to send a substitute to carry out the work); and if so
• Whether the other party to the contract is a client or customer of a profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual.

Employment status is a fact-dependent question, and the courts must consider the whole picture, including the written contract and the reality of the working arrangements. Case law on this question focuses on the extent to which the individual is controlled on a day to day basis by the purported employer and integrated into its organisation. It also considers whether the contract includes mutuality of obligation: an obligation on the employer to provide work and an obligation on the individual to accept it when offered. Having a requirement for a minimum number of hours' work each week will be one factor weighing against self-employment.

Many recent cases have determined that the claimant had worker status, even though the contract expressly stated otherwise. This can also be the case where the individual is providing their services through their own company. See for example our case report from September 2019: Can someone who is paid through their own limited company be a worker or employee? (available from our website).

By contrast, a recent case heard in the EAT upheld an employment tribunal decision that an individual was not a worker or employee and was not entitled to paid holiday or statutory minimum notice on termination, even though the contract required him to carry out some of the work personally.

Case details: Waters v The Mote Cricket Club

The claimant, Mr Waters, had a long association with the Mote Cricket Club, as player, member, committee member and volunteer. He occasionally carried out paid casual work for the club, assisting the directly employed...