Joiners

Case 5: The facts

Mr Cavil worked for Barratt Homes as a joiner on a contract which had no fixed hours and which paid him either on the number of hours he worked or on the job.

He was required to notify the company of holidays and sickness absence. He could send a substitute to cover his work, although his contract said that he needed the written consent of the company to do this.

The ruling

The EAT held that he was a worker. He was under an obligation to perform the work himself unless with consent, and this created the mutual obligation to work and be paid. It also held that a clause in his contract which said he was not a worker and had no entitlement to holiday pay was void because, on the facts of how he worked, he was a worker and could not sign away his rights to paid holidays.

Cavil v Barratt Homes EAT/0208/03