Mr Marc Lyne v Telmar Europe Limited — 2023

At the preliminary hearing on 19 January 2023, the tribunal considered whether it had jurisdiction to hear Mr Marc Lyne's unfair dismissal claim under s.108(1) Employment Rights Act 1996. The dismissal took effect on 31 March 2022. The evidence concerned an April 2019 consultancy arrangement involving Lifelyne Dot Com Ltd and Telmar Communications Ltd, followed by a contract of employment with Telmar Europe Ltd from 1 March 2021.

The tribunal accepted the written consultancy agreement as the exclusive record of the parties' arrangement at that stage. It found that the claimant freely entered the structure, took legal and accountancy advice, and that Lifelyne invoiced for his services. The tribunal preferred Mr Ingram's evidence where there was conflict and rejected the claimant's case that he was directly employed by the respondent from the outset or that the consultancy agreement was a sham.

The tribunal held that, even if it were necessary to look beyond the written agreement and imply a contract between the claimant and Telmar Europe Ltd, he still would not have been an employee. It relied on the express exclusion of employment in the consultancy agreement, the no-continuity clause in the later employment contract, and the overall arrangement as described in the evidence. The tribunal found that the claimant did not have at least two years' continuous employment with the respondent or any sister company, so the unfair dismissal claim was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.