Mr J. Hughes v Venture Restaurants Ltd and 1 other — 2020

The tribunal found that Mr Hughes worked for Venture Restaurants Ltd (R1) as head chef at Bocca from about 1 November 2018 until 22 August 2019 under an oral and implied agreement for personal service. It accepted that he worked full-time, was paid weekly at £12 per hour, was supervised by Ms Wyatt, had no right to provide a substitute, and was treated as being subject to holiday, disciplinary and notice arrangements. On that basis he was a worker under R1, but not an employee, because the tribunal was not prepared to impose mutuality of obligation retrospectively where both parties said they did not understand the relationship in that way.

The tribunal rejected any employment or worker relationship with Venturehospitality Ltd (R2). Mr Hughes had some involvement in discussions about the proposed Tapestri venture, but he was never paid by R2, never contracted to work there as head chef, and had left R1 before Tapestri opened as a restaurant. It also found that there was no transfer of an undertaking from R1 to R2 under TUPE, because Bocca and Tapestri were materially different businesses and there was no economic entity retaining its identity.

Because worker status was established against R1, Mr Hughes was entitled to accrued holiday pay. The parties had agreed the amount subject to liability, and the tribunal recorded that the outstanding holiday pay to 22 August 2019 was £1,600. R1 was ordered to pay that sum.