Nationwide Employment Lawyers
Legal enquiries and clients : 0333 242 3851
Get in Touch
Service Rating: Damian McCarthy 5 starts - Service Rate
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Howell John
    • Damian McCarthy
    • Simon Armstrong
    • Case Studies
    • Employment Law News
  • Employee Services
    • Questionnaire
    • Contact
    • Locations
    • Dismissal
    • Whistleblowing Law
    • Discrimination
      • Sex discrimination
        • Maternity rights in employment
        • Pregnancy or maternity discrimination
        • Returning to work and flexible working
        • Health and safety for pregnant women in the workplace
        • Sexual Harassment
      • Disability discrimination
      • Race discrimination
    • Equal Pay
    • Bullying and Harassment
    • Family Friendly Rights
    • Disciplinary and grievance hearings
    • Contracts
    • Transfer of Undertakings
    • Agency workers and part time workers
    • Privacy at work
    • Constructive dismissal
    • Resignation letter templates
      • Constructive dismissal letter template
      • Standard notice resignation letter template:
      • Short or long notice request template
    • Health and Safety at Work
  • Locations
    • London – Berkeley Square
    • London – Canary Wharf
    • London – Croydon
    • London – Hammersmith
    • London – High Holborn
    • London – King’s Cross
    • London – Liverpool Street
    • London – London Bridge
    • London – Richmond
  • Case Studies
    • A v PWC
    • P v S (confidential)
    • Moira Stuart quits, reigniting BBC ageism row
    • Married HBOS bank manager propositioned by colleagues
  • News
  • FAQ
  • Contact



Music Teacher Strikes Blow for Fixed-Term Contract Workers

A music teacher who ended up on a zero hours contract after his employment was transferred from a local authority to the private sector has scored a legal victory of importance to all fixed-term contract workers.

 

The teacher had worked for the council for more than a decade under a series of contracts which expired annually at the start of the school summer holidays. He had no guarantee of work from year to year but had an expectation that his contract would be renewed. His last contract ended on 31 July 2013 and the council’s music service was transferred to a private company on 1 September that year. He was engaged by the company on a zero hours contract.

 

He launched Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings against the council and the company, claiming unfair dismissal and arrears of holiday pay. He argued that he had been dismissed by the company and re-engaged on different terms. That claim depended on whether he was employed by the council at the date of the transfer notwithstanding the prior expiry of his contract.

 

In ruling in his favour on that issue, the ET found that his continuity of employment with the council was preserved by operation of Section 212(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Following the transfer, he was thus entitled to be employed by the company on the same terms and conditions as before.

 

The ET also found that the transfer could not be viewed as a single, instantaneous, transaction. It had been planned for some time and it had been envisaged that the teacher and others in the same position would continue to work for the company on annual contracts.

 

In dismissing the company’s challenge to the ET’s ruling, the Employment Appeal Tribunal could detect no error of law in its findings.




Social Share
  • google-share

Our specialist areas of law

  • Employment Tribunals
    • Employment Tribunals London
  • Dismissal
    • Unfair Dismissal
    • Constructive Dismissal & Resignation Advice
    • Compromise agreements
    • Executive Dismissal
    • Whistleblowing Law
    • Redundancy claims
    • Age Discrimination & Redundancy – Protection for all Ages In Redundancy
    • Collective redundancy
  • Whistleblowing
    • Whistleblowing Law
  • Discrimination (overview)
    • Discrimination at work – overview
  • –– Sex Discrimination
    • Maternity rights in employment
    • Pregnancy or maternity discrimination
    • Returning to work and flexible working
    • Health and safety issues for pregnant women in the workplace
  • –– Disability discrimination
    • Disability discrimination
  • –– Race discrimination
    • Race discrimination
  • –– Age discrimination
    • Age discrimination in recruitment and selection
    • Age discrimination – your rights at retirement
    • Age discrimination and redundancy – protection for all ages in redundancy
    • Age discrimination and pensions
    • Age discrimination and benefits
  • –– Sexual-orientation discrimination
    • Sexual-orientation discrimination in goods and services
  • –– Religious discrimination
    • Religious discrimination
  • –– Gender reassignment discrimination
    • Gender reassignment discrimination
  • Equal pay
    • Equal pay
  • Bullying and Harassment
    • Bullying and harrasment at work
  • Family-friendly rights
    • Family leave
    • Maternity rights in employment
    • Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
    • Return to work and flexible working
    • Health and safety for pregnant women in the workplace
    • Paternity rights
    • Maternity
    • Part-time workers
  • Disciplinary and Grievance Hearings
    • Disciplinary Hearings & Procedures
    • Grievance procedures
  • Contracts
    • Bonus disputes and discrimination
    • Bonus disputes
    • Bonus discrimination & The Risks Associated With It
    • Contract disputes and permanent health insurance
    • Employment contract disputes – restrictive covenants
  • Transfer of Undertakings
    • Transfer of undertakings (TUPE)
  • Agency Workers and Part Time Workers
    • Agency workers
    • Part-time workers
  • Privacy at Work
    • Privacy at work
  • Letter Templates
    • Constructive dismissal letter template
    • Standard notice resignation letter template:
    • Short or long notice request template

Contact Us

  • We will be able to help you quickly if you leave us a contact phone number. We keep this strictly confidential.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Quick Links

Navigation

About Us
Employee Services
Locations
Case Studies
News
FAQs
Contact

Terms

Privacy statement
Terms

Copyright Notice | Disclaimer | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Statement
ACAS | EHRC
Nationwide Employment Lawyers Ltd is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For peace of mind you can find information about our authorisation by checking the Registration number 838365 on the Financial Services Register : register.fca.org.uk. Please note all telephone calls are recorded, as required by the regulator. Nationwide Employment Lawyers Ltd is not a firm of solicitors. Instead we offer an exceptional level of service using specialist employment law Solicitors, Barristers and a Senior Advocate.
Please contact us using either the questionnaire, quick contact form (above) or telephoning us on 0333 242 3851.