Stability of employment

Case 3: The facts

Mrs Shah worked as a sessional teacher for a local authority under a series of contracts. She brought a claim for access to the pension scheme during a period when she had been excluded from it, but her employer argued that her claim was out of time.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that Shah could bring her claim as she had been employed under a series of fixed term contracts that amounted to a “stable employment relationship” for the purposes of an equal pay claim. The tribunal that had upheld her claim had been entitled to rely on her oral evidence about what work she had done, it added, as there was no documentary evidence available.

Although Shah’s work at one of the centres had changed from teaching to guidance during her employment, she had continued to teach for short periods at the adult education centre. This was enough to establish a continuing employment relationship, the EAT said.

London Borough of Brent v Shah & another EAT/0029/07