Mr J Johnson v Contour Roofing (Essex) Ltd. PRELIMINARY HEARING — 2021

This was a remote preliminary hearing on employment status and jurisdiction. The claimant, Mr J Johnson, had worked for Contour Roofing (Essex) Ltd from March 2011 until his dismissal without notice on 15 September 2020 for alleged misconduct. Although he had signed successive documents described as contracts for services and was described in them as a subcontractor, the tribunal held that the written terms did not reflect the true agreement between the parties.

The tribunal found a consistent and long-standing practice in which the respondent offered work on both a flat day rate and priced jobs, and the claimant accepted that work and carried it out personally. It found that he worked exclusively for the respondent five days a week for almost ten years, did not work elsewhere, and had no meaningful right of substitution in practice. It also found mutuality of obligation: the respondent offered work and the claimant was expected to complete it, including on the basis that he would finish allocated jobs and could earn extra if he completed priced work early. The tribunal referred to the classic employment status authorities, including Ready Mixed Concrete, Autoclenz, Uber v Aslam, St Ives Plymouth v Haggerty and Pimlico Plumbers v Smith.

On control, the tribunal found that the claimant was allocated work by the respondent's managers through the Planner, was subject to site rules, health and safety requirements and client presentation policies, and received emails that showed supervision and instruction rather than the relationship of an independent contractor. It also noted an instance of informal discipline when he failed to attend a weekend job. Taking the relationship as a whole, the tribunal concluded that the claimant was an employee within s.230 ERA 1996 and that he had at least two years' continuous qualifying service by the date of dismissal. It therefore held that the tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the unfair dismissal, accrued holiday pay and breach of contract claims, but it made no merits findings and no monetary award at this stage.