In person For the v Respondent — 2023

Mr Davies claimed unpaid salary, a sign-on bonus, pension contributions and holiday pay on the basis that he had been employed by Londorf Capital Limited from 2 January 2023 at £14,000 gross per month. The tribunal rejected that case and dismissed the unlawful deduction from wages claim. It found that, although the parties had agreed he would be the Director of Agri-Food Industrial Processing for Capiconic in relation to the Kenyan project, they never agreed when that role would start, who the contracting employer would be, or what pay would apply.

The tribunal found that the October 2022 discussions and later WhatsApp messages showed negotiations rather than a concluded contract. It accepted that Rod Bassett had said any binding appointment depended on internal approval and funding, and those conditions were never fulfilled. The tribunal also found there was no mutual intention to create legal relations in relation to the alleged employment contract, because both sides were still negotiating and the Claimant knew the arrangement remained subject to family office approval.

The tribunal further held there was no need to imply a contract in the terms advanced by the Claimant. It found there was already a separate workable arrangement for pre-contract work through the Claimant's service company at £750 per day, which the Claimant chose not to rely on in these proceedings. Even if the 3 January 2023 draft employment contract had been signed, the tribunal noted it could have been terminated on one week's notice during the first three months, so damages for non-commencement would in any event have been limited. On that basis the Claimant was not a worker of the Respondent for the sums claimed and had no enforceable entitlement to them.