In person For v Mr S Hoyle, Consultant (Croner) — 2020

Mr Smith and Mr Hart brought claims presented on 19 April 2019 for unpaid holiday pay arising from their work as English teachers for the respondent. The tribunal said the claims turned on whether their engagement amounted to worker status within regulation 2 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. It heard evidence from the claimants and from Mr T Shoben, and accepted that neither claimant had been given a full written contract setting out the terms and conditions governing the work. It also accepted that Mr Smith signed a document describing him as self-employed, but found that this did not reflect the reality of the working arrangements.

Applying the worker-status authorities, the tribunal found that both claimants were workers. It relied on the need for personal service, the claimants' inability realistically to substitute another teacher, the respondent's control over class times, locations and resources, and the fact that classes were treated as belonging to particular teachers. It accepted that the respondent arranged teaching into three-month 'books' and found that, during those periods, there was an expectation that the claimants would continue teaching their allocated classes. The tribunal also found that the claimants had little bargaining power when they entered the arrangements and that the short self-employed declaration did not alter the true position.

The tribunal rejected the respondent's argument that the motivation or status of a third party, Mr Owen, was relevant to the issue of worker status. It concluded that the reality of the arrangements corresponded to worker status under regulation 2 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. On quantum, it accepted the claimants' calculations, which were not seriously challenged, and entered judgment for unpaid holiday pay in the sums of £246 for Mr Smith and £1,079 for Mr Hart. It also noted that the respondent's proposed counterclaim for notice pay could not proceed because there was no written contract evidencing the notice terms and no properly amended response or counterclaim.