Respondents: Mrs S R Albieri v (1) Mr James Brewer (2) Ms Sadhana Halder v Mrs S R Albieri v and 2 others — 2026

The claimant, a nanny, brought a claim for accrued and unpaid holiday pay against the respondents, the parents who had engaged her. The parties had met through the Koru Kids app but agreed to contract directly, with no written contract. They agreed she would work two fixed days per week at £17 per hour, with the respondents paying £330 in cash each week. Both parties understood and described the claimant as self-employed; she registered as self-employed with HMRC and declared the income as self-employed receipts.

Employment Judge Fredericks-Bowyer found that there was no irreducible minimum of obligation in the relationship, that the claimant retained significant control over how the services were provided, and that she worked for at least one other long-term family and other families on an ad-hoc basis. Applying authorities including Clyde & Co LLP v Bates van Winkelhof [2014] UKSC 32 and Cotswold Developments Construction Ltd v Williams [2006] IRLR 181, the judge concluded that the respondents were clients or customers of the claimant's nanny business rather than her employer, and that she was neither an employee nor a worker.

Because the claimant was self-employed, the Tribunal had no jurisdiction over the holiday pay claim and it was dismissed. The judge noted that any contractual entitlement to holiday pay would need to be pursued in the County Court, and deliberately made no findings on the precise terms of the engagement so as not to bind that court.