Homeworkers

Case 2: The facts

Mrs Bridges and her fellow homeworkers brought claims for unfair dismissal and redundancy, among others, to an employment tribunal. They first had to establish that they were employees.

The ruling

For there to be a contract of employment, the EAT said, the minimum requirement is a "mutuality of obligation" - the employer is obliged to offer work and the worker is obliged to accept it. Because the homeworkers' contract specifically stated that there was no mutuality of obligation, they could not be employees.

The EAT went on to say that, even if this had not been the case, the company did not have enough control over the work for there to be a contract of employment. The workers could not proceed with their claims.

Bridges and others v Industrial Rubber UKEAT/0150/04