Miss T Scott v CYC Coastal Club Ltd — 2023

At this preliminary hearing on 29 November 2023, Employment Judge Dyal considered whether the Respondent's committee had authority to bind the company after the 12-month term in article 10(2) had passed without resignation, election of a new committee, or an AGM. The tribunal rejected the Respondent's construction of the Articles of Association, holding that the committee continued to hold the powers in article 11 until it resigned or was otherwise removed, and that the pandemic explained the absence of an AGM in 2020.

The tribunal then rejected the submission that the claimant's two written agreements were a sham or were not contracts of employment. It found that the claimant genuinely began paid work on 1 June 2020 as Site Manager/Administrator, and that a second agreement signed in June 2021 reflected additional bookkeeping duties from 1 October 2020 at an extra £65 for four hours per week. The tribunal accepted that she performed the duties personally, took instructions from Mr Davies and the committee, had no contractual right of substitution, and was paid through PAYE with payslips and auto-enrolment, all of which pointed to employment.

The tribunal also refused the Respondent's application for a deposit order. It said that, on the material before it, and in light of counsel's instruction that the claimant had been invited to a meeting before dismissal and declined it, it was not satisfied that the unfair dismissal allegation had little reasonable prospect of success. No final merits decision was made on the underlying unfair dismissal, breach of contract, redundancy, or wage claims, and no monetary award was ordered.