Mr A Hassan v Willing and Able Ltd (in voluntary liquidation) and 1 other — 2022

At this preliminary hearing on 7 December 2021, the tribunal decided only the claimant's employment status. Mr A Hassan said he had worked for Willing and Able Ltd between 29 January 2019 and 1 April 2020; the respondents said he was a self-employed contractor. The tribunal considered the interview process, the offer letter, the unsigned contract for services, the email exchanges, the delivery schedules, the reporting lines, and the way the claimant was paid through invoices and timesheets.

The tribunal found that the claimant had a contract with the first respondent and that the unsigned written contract for services had not been agreed and did not reflect the reality of the relationship. It held that he provided his own work and skills for remuneration, was subject to sufficient control, was integrated into the business, was not in business on his own account, could not send a substitute, and there was mutuality of obligations for the duration of the courses. On that basis, the tribunal found that he was both an employee and a worker of the first respondent.

The tribunal therefore held that it had jurisdiction to hear the claimant's complaints. No substantive liability findings or remedy were determined at this stage. The matter was listed for a final hearing, and the claimant was asked to confirm whether he wished to proceed in light of the first respondent's voluntary liquidation and to clarify his complaints against the second respondent.