Mr A Mauve v Consolidated Nickel Mines Limited — 2024

The tribunal considered whether the Employment Tribunals in England and Wales had territorial jurisdiction to determine Mr Mauve's unfair dismissal claim against Consolidated Nickel Mines Limited. The claimant had worked for the respondent in a role connected with a mine in Zambia, and the respondent argued that the claim was outside the tribunal's territorial jurisdiction because the claimant's role was in practice based in Zambia.

The tribunal found that the claimant's connections to Great Britain were sufficiently strong. It relied on matters including the claimant's residence and citizenship, the respondent's incorporation and base in Great Britain, the English law and jurisdiction clauses in the contract, the contractual place of work, UK tax and national insurance, and the finding that the claimant was closer to an international commuter than a true expatriate.

The tribunal concluded that England was the claimant's base and that the unfair dismissal claim was within the territorial jurisdiction of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The judgment determined only the jurisdiction issue and ordered that the unfair dismissal claim should proceed.