In person For the v Ms E Godwins, Employment Consultant — 2019

This was an open preliminary hearing on whether the claimant fell within the Equality Act 2010 definition of employment for a claim alleging a failure to offer employment. The judge noted that the issue had effectively become whether the employment she was seeking was a contract personally to do work within section 83(2)(a) of the Equality Act 2010. He recorded the parties' text messages about a possible return to work in October 2018, but did not make findings on the respondents' arguments about authority or the alleged non-pregnancy reason for not re-engaging the claimant.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had worked for the second respondent from 3 January 2017 until about 5 July 2018 on what both sides described as a self-employed basis, but found that the relationship was not one of a truly independent contractor. It found that the claimant provided personal services in the hairdressing salon, could not send a substitute, worked regular hours, performed tasks beyond client work, and was subject to the second respondent's direction and control. The tribunal also found sufficient mutuality of obligation in the arrangement.

On that basis, the judge held that the claimant was potentially to be employed under a contract personally to do work within section 83(2)(a) Equality Act 2010. The judgment therefore resolved the preliminary status issue in the claimant's favour, but did not decide the substantive discrimination claim or any remedy.