Mr D Egan v Hywel Dda University Local Health Board — 2022

The tribunal heard the case on 17 and 18 May 2022 and held that Mr Egan was engaged by Hywel Dda University Local Health Board as a worker, not as an employee. It found that his June 2019 engagement was through agency arrangements and that the contemporaneous documents, including TempRE bookings, the assignment confirmation and later emails, supported the conclusion that the same status continued into April 2020. The tribunal rejected his case that discussions in March 2020 created a fixed-term contract of employment, preferred the evidence of Mr Walpole and Ms Thomas, and found there was no basis to imply an employment contract under the agency-worker principles it applied.

The disability discrimination claim was dismissed because the Claimant had not produced medical evidence or other material to support a finding that he was disabled for the purposes of section 6 Equality Act 2010. The tribunal recorded that directions had been made for such evidence and that the Claimant had sought a postponement, but it proceeded on the evidence available and found no basis for the statutory definition to be met.

The unfair dismissal claim under section 98 Employment Rights Act 1996 was also dismissed. The tribunal's central finding was that there was no contract of employment at any stage, so the Claimant could not pursue an unfair dismissal claim against the Health Board. It also rejected his assertions that the Respondent's witnesses had lied or fabricated events, and found that the change in job title and the March 2020 payment arrangements did not show a change from agency work to employment.