On 29 November 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down its judgment in the case of King v The Sash Window Workshop Ltd, Richard Dollar (Case C-214/16) concerning whether a worker was entitled, upon termination, to a payment in lieu of untaken holiday throughout the 13 years of his engagement. Marcus Pilgerstorfer represented the Respondents, instructed by James Potts of Peninsula.

The CJEU’s judgment will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

The judgment can be seen here; and the opinion of the advocate general here.

Ayodele v Citylink Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 1913 

The Court of Appeal has ruled that claimants still bear an initial burden of proof under the Equality Act 2010 (“EA 2010”), despite the change in wording in s. 136 as compared with the pre-EA legislation. In coming to this conclusion, the Court ruled that the interpretation placed on that section by the EAT in Efobi v Royal Mail Group Limited (UKEAT/0203/16, 10 August 2017) was wrong, and should not be followed. Read more »

Employment Law Set of the Year
Chambers & Partners and Legal 500

Please join us at our annual Employment Law Conference on 8th May 2017 in London or 7th June 2017 in Leeds.

Specialist barristers from 11KBW – the leading chambers for all aspects of Employment Law – will provide updates and insights on key areas of the law including whistleblowing, modern slavery and equal pay and benefits.  The day starts with three sessions focussing on areas of particular interest to commercial employment practitioners, and ends with a panel discussion on the sensitive and topical issue of  religious discrimination and religious neutrality.

This year we are delighted to have Sir Patrick Elias, recently retired Lord Justice of Appeal and founding member of 11KBW, deliver our keynote address in London. Read more »

We are delighted to have won Employment Law Set of the Year at last night’s Chambers Bar Awards. Earlier this week we were also awarded Employment Law Set of the Year at the Legal 500 UK Awards 2017.

We are delighted to announce that Chambers has received 3 nominations in this year’s Chambers and Partners Bar Awards; Anya Proops QC has been nominated for Defamation Silk of the Year; Jane McCafferty for Employment Law Junior of the Year; and Chambers for Employment Law Set of the Year.

The awards take place at The London Hilton on Park Lane on Thursday, 27th October 2016. A full list of nominations can be viewed here.

Today, in the case of Secretary of State for Justice v. Windle and Arada [2016] EWCA Civ 459, the Court of Appeal (Underhill LJ giving judgment) decided that Court and Tribunal interpreters are not employees for the purposes of pursuing claims under the Equality Act 2010. In doing so, the Court overturned a decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (presided over by HHJ Peter Clark) [2015] ICR 156, and restored the judgment of the Leeds Employment Tribunal.

The case concerned professional interpreters working for the Courts and Tribunals on multiple engagements, with no overriding or ‘umbrella’ contract of employment. The appeal was concerned with whether the professional interpreters could be classified as ‘employees’ for Equality Act purposes for each engagement. The appeal turned on a narrow question: whether an employment tribunal could take into account the fact that in between assignments there was an ‘absence of mutuality of obligations’. The EAT had held that this was impermissible.

Lord Justice Underhill allowed the appeal, stating that when determining the employment status of an individual it is ‘necessary to consider all the circumstances’: see §23. Excluding consideration of the absence of mutuality between engagements ‘in limine runs counter to the repeated message of the authorities that it is necessary to consider all the circumstances.’

Furthermore, Underhill LJ explained at §23, ‘It seems to me a matter of common sense and common experience that the fact that a person supplying services is only doing so on an assignment-by-assignment basis may tend to indicate a degree of independence, or lack of subordination, in the relationship while at work which is incompatible with employee status even in the extended sense.’

The same point had been made by Elias LJ in Quashie v. Stringfellows Restaurant Ltd. [2012] EWCA Civ 1735, in respect of employment status for unfair dismissal claims. Underhill LJ explained that there was no reason to apply a different approach when looking at the question of employment status in ‘the extended sense’ under the Equality Act.

Clive Sheldon QC of 11KBW represented the Secretary of State for Justice on the appeal.

Click here to read judgment