Mr B Sani v Summerhill Properties Limited T/A Hilton Cardiff — 2019

The claimant began work at the Hilton Cardiff as a kitchen steward on 27 October 2014 and signed a casual worker agreement on 24 October 2014. The tribunal accepted that he provided personal service and that the respondent provided uniform, equipment, pension arrangements and holiday pay, but it found that the written agreement and the working arrangements did not create employee status. The claimant could specify availability, could not use a substitute, and worked regularly, but the tribunal held that regular work did not displace the absence of mutuality of obligation required for an employment contract.

On the employee status issue, the tribunal relied on the terms of the casual worker agreement and the evidence about the parties' actual arrangements. It found that the claimant was a worker, not an employee, and that the agreement reflected the reality of the relationship. Because of that finding, the unfair dismissal claim failed and the tribunal said it was unnecessary to determine the effective date of termination or the unfair dismissal time-limit questions.

The race discrimination complaint was based on the failure to give the claimant further shifts after March 2016, and he also alleged an offensive remark in March 2016. The tribunal found that the act complained of occurred on or around 31 March 2016, the last date he was offered work, and that the claim was out of time. It declined to extend time on a just and equitable basis, noting that the claimant had understood by at least 28 September 2016 that no further shifts were likely and that the claim was not lodged until much later. The same limitation conclusion applied to the alleged remark.

The notice pay claim and the wages claim also failed. The tribunal held that, because the claimant was not an employee, he was not entitled to notice pay. It also found that he had not worked after 31 March 2016 and therefore was not entitled to any further wages. No monetary award was made.