In person For the v Mr P Soni, Representative — 2022

The claimant, Miss Palmer, was the sole shareholder and sole director of Gap Presents Ltd. She said she had been advised by accountants to incorporate when her business turnover exceeded the VAT threshold, and the tribunal accepted that she gave no thought at the time to how her status would change. The evidence showed no written contract of employment, and the claimant said there was no practical change in the way she worked after incorporation.

The tribunal applied the guidance in Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform v Neufeld and Clark v Clark Construction Initiatives Ltd, and focused on whether there had been any real handling of an employment relationship or any discussion of employment terms. It found that the arrangement was made with the involvement of accountants for tax purposes, that the claimant had not considered employment status, and that the work she did for the company was the work one would expect from a director rather than an employee. On that basis, it held that she was never an employee within section 230(1) and (2) of the ERA 1996.

Because the claimant was not an employee, the tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to determine her claims for redundancy payment, arrears of pay, unpaid holiday pay and notice pay under Part XII ERA 1996. All of those claims were therefore dismissed. No monetary award was made.