Mr L Carberry v Integrity Pub Management Limited — 2020

This was a preliminary status judgment. The tribunal held that Mr L Carberry was an employee for the unfair dismissal claim and a worker for the unlawful deduction from wages claim under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It recorded that he had signed a contract of employment on 13 March 2015 as Pub Manager and Company Director, with salary of £11,000 per annum, fixed hours, PAYE pay, and responsibility for administration, accounts and VAT returns.

The tribunal found that when Mr Greaves and Mr Ashton acquired shares in January 2018, the claimant's contract of employment was not terminated and continued alongside his reduced shareholding. It accepted that no notice or P45 had been issued, that the previous accountant remained involved, and that the claimant continued to deal with VAT returns and company accounts. It rejected the respondent's reliance on the statutory declaration signed on 2 February 2018 stating that the respondent had no 'bona fide' employees and did not owe more than £5,000 to creditors.

Applying the authorities it had cited on employee and worker status, including Ready Mixed Concrete, Carmichael, Montgomery v Johnson Underwood, Windle, Westwood, Bates van Winkelhof and James v Redcats, the tribunal concluded that the employment contract remained in place until the claimant's removal as a director in December 2019. The judgment records no monetary award or remedy calculation.