Autoclenz Ltd v Belchre & Others [2011] UKSC 41
The Supreme Court recently held that if, on examination of the reality of the working relationship between two parties, an individual appears to be a worker, then he probably is a worker! The reality of the situation between two parties overrides a contract stating otherwise.
The Respondent was a company providing car-valeting services, the Claimants being 20 individual valeters. The Claimants contended that they were workers pursuant to regulation 2 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999, and thus were entitled to receive statutory paid leave.
Under their contracts, the Claimants were described as individual self-employed contractors. The contract specifically provided that the Claimants were not obliged to provide their services on any particular occasion. However the reality was somewhat different; the Claimants were not autonomous as suggested by their contracts, but were subject to the direction and control of the Respondent.
The key question, as stated by Lord Clarke must always be “what is the true position between the parties?”