Mrs S Radecka v 1) Craig Bush 2) Mr Radecki a partnership trading as Atlantic Design & Print — 2019

The claimant brought claims for unpaid wages and race discrimination based on her Polish nationality. The tribunal first determined the nature of Atlantic Design & Print and found that the first and second respondents were in partnership for the relevant period, carrying on a business in common with a view to profit and sharing net profits. It accepted that the business had not yet been incorporated and that the partnership had existed before the business broke up.

On the wages claim, the tribunal found there was no contract between the claimant and the partnership and that she was not a worker for the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It found that she had been helping out in her husband’s start-up business during its early period, in the same way as assistance had been given by friends and family, rather than working under an arrangement for remuneration. The tribunal noted that she did not ask for payment until early December 2018, more than two months after the work said to have been done, and that she could not identify specific times worked.

The tribunal therefore held that it lacked jurisdiction to determine the unlawful deduction from wages claim, and also that the claimant was not an employee for the broader Equality Act 2010 definition. It went on to consider discrimination in the alternative and concluded that, even on her own evidence, there was insufficient material to establish a prima facie case of race discrimination. All claims were dismissed.