Mr D Moulton v MEPA College and 1 other — 2024

Mr Moulton brought claims for holiday pay and wrongful dismissal (notice pay) against MEPA College and MEPA Academy Ltd, having worked as a Singing/Musical Theatre Teacher from January 2022 until his summary dismissal on 5 January 2023. The central dispute was his employment status: the respondents treated him as self-employed (paid gross, invoicing monthly, registered as a sole trader), while he contended he was an employee and worker. Employment Judge Reed found that, viewing the relationship as a whole, there was clear mutuality of obligation and a strong level of control, with Mr Moulton closely integrated into the organisation; the contrary indicators (the parties' characterisation and tax arrangements) were determined by the College rather than by him and did not outweigh the factors pointing to employment status. He was therefore an employee and a worker.

On wrongful dismissal, the tribunal held that a reasonable period of notice was one week, in line with the statutory minimum, given his short service and the absence of evidence supporting a longer customary term-length notice. As he had been summarily dismissed without notice, he was awarded £240 (calculated on gross pay to reflect likely tax as Post Employment Notice Pay). On holiday pay, he was entitled to 5.6 weeks annual leave pro-rated to 5.43 weeks; the weekly wage was recalculated to £133.33 (the claimant's £73.65 figure was rejected as it did not apply s.224(3) ERA 1996, which excludes weeks with no remuneration), producing an award of £723.98.

The claims against the 1st respondent (MEPA College) were dismissed because the correct legal identity of the claimant's employer was MEPA Academy Ltd, against whom the awards were ordered.