(1) Mr R. Morgan (2) Mrs J. Morgan v SMS Farming Limited — 2025

In a reserved judgment dated 28 February 2025, Employment Judge Skehan determined at a preliminary hearing whether Richard and Julie Morgan were employees or workers of SMS Farming Limited under section 230 ERA 1996. The tribunal described the respondent as a family farm run informally by the brothers and their families, with no written employment contracts, modest weekly payments said to have been made on accountants' advice, and a wider quasi-partnership background including shareholding and large family loans.

Applying the approach in Commissioners for His Majesty's Revenue and Customs v Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PMOL), the tribunal considered control, mutuality, personal service, and the totality of the relationship. It found that no one other than Richard controlled his day-to-day work, that Julie decided what needed to be done in developing Field Farm Fresh Ltd, that neither claimant needed prior approval for holidays, and that both could arrange substitutes for practical tasks. The tribunal also found that the payments looked more like director's or de facto director's drawings than employment earnings, and that the paperwork and tax treatment were not reliable indicators of an employment relationship.

The tribunal concluded that the claimants were neither employees nor workers and that there was no intention to create an employment relationship. As all pleaded claims required employee or worker status, it dismissed the claims for unfair dismissal, notice pay, statement of employment particulars, maximum weekly working time, annual leave or holiday pay, national minimum wage, and unlawful deductions from wages. No remedy was awarded.