Agencies and control

Case 15: The facts

Mr Bunce, a welder, worked for a rail company through an agency. He brought a claim of unfair dismissal, but an employment tribunal held that he was not an employee of either the agency or the rail company and so could not pursue the claim.

Bunce appealed against the part of the tribunal ruling that held there was no employment relationship between him and the agency; he did not appeal against the decision that he was not employed by the rail company. However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal agreed with the tribunal that he was not an employee of the agency (see Workplace Report, October 2004).

The ruling

The Court of Appeal confirmed that Bunce was not an employee of the agency. However, it said there could be circumstances where an agency had an umbrella agreement with a worker, with individual contracts for each assignment - although this was not the case here.

The detailed provisions governing the relationship between Bunce and the agency meant that there could not be separate contracts running side by side.

Bunce v Postworth Ltd trading as Skyblue [2005] EWCA Civ 490