Mrs CE Marsland v St Augustine’s Episcopal Church — 2019

At a preliminary hearing on 11 September 2019, Employment Judge M Sangster determined employment status and the identity of the correct respondent in Mrs CE Marsland's case. The tribunal found that the claimant had initially been engaged in July 2015 to help develop Food for Thought, but that the reality of the relationship changed over time: she provided personal service, worked fixed hours, reported to and took direction from the FFT/FFT SCIO committee, received a fixed salary, and was paid from the FFT SCIO bank account. The tribunal accepted that the written freelancer agreements did not reflect the reality of the relationship, including the April 2017 agreement which named the wrong party.

Applying s.230(1) and s.230(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the approach in Ready Mixed Concrete and Autoclenz, the tribunal held that the claimant was an employee. It further held that, after FFT SCIO was created, she was employed by FFT SCIO or its predecessor, not by St Augustine's Episcopal Church. On that basis, and under Rule 34 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure, FFT SCIO was substituted as respondent and the claim was to proceed against FFT SCIO only. The judgment did not determine the merits of the underlying unfair dismissal or public interest disclosure complaints, and no monetary award was made.