Miss Y Rayani v Abram Village Club — 2022

At this preliminary hearing the Tribunal decided only whether Miss Y Rayani was an employee of Abram Village Club when her engagement ended on 31 October 2020. It held that she was an employee, so her unfair dismissal claim could proceed to a final hearing. The judgment did not determine the merits of dismissal or award any remedy.

The Tribunal found that Ms Rayani worked as the club's bar manager, initially seven days a week and from 2018 only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She was paid in cash from bar takings, there were no written contractual documents, payslips, or terms and conditions, and the club's paperwork described her as self-employed while also referring to salary increases and the National Minimum Wage. The Tribunal treated this as an inconsistent and confused approach to status rather than evidence of genuine self-employment.

Applying the multiple test from Ready Mixed Concrete and the approach in Weight Watchers, the Tribunal found that the relationship involved control, mutuality of obligation, and sufficient personal service. It accepted that substitutions were sometimes arranged, but concluded that the arrangement allowed a substitute to contract directly with the club in stated circumstances rather than giving Ms Rayani an unfettered right of delegation. Standing back, the Tribunal held that the label self-employed did not reflect the true relationship and that she had been employed from the start.