Mr J Nixon Respondent 1: Vedamain Limited Respondent 2: Clakim Limited v Mr M Howson, consultant For the second respondent: Mr M Williams, director — 2021

The tribunal held that the claimant was an employee for the purposes of section 230 ERA 1996 and Regulation 2(1) of TUPE. It found that he had been employed by the second respondent from 1 September 2014, that his work later included taxi driving as well as office and training duties, and that the business transferred to the first respondent on 17 December 2019. On the tribunal's findings, the claimant was not working as an operator immediately before the transfer, but if illegality had not barred the claim it would have found that he was an employee of the second respondent for at least two years and that the unfair dismissal complaint was in time.

The tribunal preferred evidence that, from at least August 2018, the claimant carried out taxi work for the second respondent and also received the ordinary wage shown on his wage slips. It found that he received cash payments and additional bank transfers linked to taxi work, and that there was an arrangement between him and Mr Williams on behalf of the second respondent for him to carry out taxi driving services as required. The tribunal concluded that both the claimant and Mr Williams knowingly failed to account to HMRC for tax and national insurance on a substantial part of the claimant's income from that work, and that the version of events presented before the transfer, including the description of the claimant as an operator on rota and due diligence material, was not credible.

Applying the illegality principles in Holman v Johnson, Patel v Mirza and Stoffel and Co v Grondona, the tribunal held that the illegal performance of the contract was pivotal and that enforcing the claimant's claims would seriously harm the integrity of the legal system. It therefore held that the claimant could not pursue claims for unfair dismissal, automatic unfair dismissal under TUPE, failure to inform and consult, or unpaid accrued holiday pay, and all claims were dismissed.