Mrs Virginia Sutters v Represented by Ms M Dalziel Solicitor Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs — 2021

This was a preliminary hearing to determine jurisdiction over the claimant's single unfair dismissal complaint. The tribunal heard no evidence. It found as fact, on the basis of the claimant's email of 19 February 2021, that she was at all material times an alien for the purposes of the relevant legislation.

The respondent argued that section 6 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919 expressly prohibited the claimant's appointment to civil service employment and made the contract void ab initio. The tribunal accepted that section 6 was an express prohibition on the appointment of an alien to any office or employment in the Civil Service, and held that section 13 reinforced that prohibition by creating a criminal offence for contravention. It also treated the Aliens' Employment Act 1955 as part of the relevant statutory framework, noting that it recognises only limited exceptions that were not relevant on the facts found.

Applying that construction, the tribunal concluded that the contract between the parties was prohibited by statute and therefore there was no contract of employment within section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The claimant was not an employee of the respondent and did not have the statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed. The tribunal therefore held that it had no jurisdiction to determine the unfair dismissal claim, and the claim was dismissed.