Mr R Bores v Virtalis Limited — 2024

The claimant, a Dutch national, worked throughout his employment from his home in the Netherlands. Although the respondent was headquartered in the UK and the claimant's contract referred to English law and courts, the Tribunal found that he was not employed in Great Britain and had not shown a sufficiently strong connection with Great Britain and British employment law to bring an unfair dismissal claim under section 94(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The Tribunal therefore dismissed the unfair dismissal claim for lack of jurisdiction. The wrongful dismissal claim was not finally adjudicated: the Tribunal recorded that, on its face, it had been presented out of time and directed the claimant to say whether he wished to withdraw it or seek a further preliminary hearing on whether time should be extended.

For the wrongful dismissal issue, the Tribunal made findings to assist the parties about the claimant's terms. It found that his employment continued after he resigned as CEO, that his start date remained 1 July 2020, that the probationary period did not apply, and that the relevant notice period was one month.