Mrs M Caroll-Cliffe v Pembrey and Burry Port Town Council — 2020

Mrs M Caroll-Cliffe worked as Town Clerk for Pembrey and Burry Port Town Council from 1 January 2013 until she resigned without notice on 12 February 2019. Her ET1 of 3 May 2019 included whistleblowing detriment, automatically unfair dismissal under s.103A ERA 1996, unfair (constructive) dismissal, wrongful dismissal and equal pay (equal value). This decision was a preliminary issue hearing focused on whether Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) could be treated as an associated employer and whether there was a single source for the equal pay comparison.

The tribunal found that the respondent was a statutory body corporate that made staffing and pay decisions through its own committees and budget process. CCC had provided HR advice and carried out job evaluations using a prescriptive scheme, but the tribunal accepted evidence that the Town Council chose to use that scheme and retained decision-making power. The absence of a full paper trail was described as unsatisfactory, but it was not enough to justify an inference that CCC controlled the respondent or had a veto over its decisions.

Applying Gardiner v London Borough of Merton and Fox Cross Claimants v Glasgow City Council, the tribunal held that CCC was not an associated employer of the respondent for the purposes of s.79(4) Equality Act 2010. It also found no evidence that a third party controlled either body under s.79(9), and no single source under Article 157 TFEU that was responsible for and could remedy any pay disparity. All three preliminary questions were answered in the negative, and the ruling did not include any remedy assessment.