Employee status and TUPE

Case 3: The facts

Mr Summers was employed as a packer for agency Drivertime Derby, which supplied him to another company. Drivertime Derby then went out of business, but Summers carried on working for the same company on the instruction of the agency's head office, who continued to pay his wages.

Summers left the company four months later and claimed his outstanding holiday pay, arguing that his employment had transferred to them under the TUPE regulations.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that, although there had been a TUPE transfer, this did not help Summers. This is because the TUPE regulations protect only employees, and Summers worked on a contract for services.

However, it said that the agency was liable to pay his holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations. These regulations apply to workers and not just employees, so can cover those on a contract for services.

Drivertime Manchester Ltd v Summers UKEAT/0073/04