Alice Jolly (1) and Rebecca Abrams (2) v The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of The University Of Oxford — 2024

This was a reserved judgment on a preliminary issue heard at Reading on 15-17 January 2024 before Employment Judge R Read. The question was whether Alice Jolly and Rebecca Abrams were employees within the meaning of s.230 ERA 1996 and s.295 TULRCA 1996, or whether they were workers. The judge found that both claimants were engaged on fixed term contracts of employment and were employees.

The tribunal accepted that the claimants had worked on the MSt in Creative Writing course over many years, but found that the relevant arrangements were not casual or purely optional once accepted. It concluded that an agreement about the work to be done was effectively reached by July before the academic year began, covering the scheduled teaching and supervision work, ancillary marking and report work, and the agreed number of Year 2 supervisees over a 15 month period.

Applying the Ready Mixed Concrete framework, the judge found that the claimants provided personal service and that the substitution clause was limited and occasional. On control, the tribunal found Oxford set the structure, format, timing and assessment framework for the work, even though tutors retained some freedom over teaching materials and method. The judge also noted additional features such as university credentials and intellectual property terms, but said these were not critical to the decision.

The judgment expressly stated that it did not determine whether a dismissal occurred or whether any dismissal was unfair, and it said a separate order would follow for the further progress of the claims. No monetary remedy was awarded in this judgment.