Latest in Employment Law>Case Law>Armitage v Boor t/a Dance with Annarie [2020]
Armitage v Boor t/a Dance with Annarie [2020]
Published on: 08/12/2020
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Jason Elliott BL Lecturer in Law and Barrister
Jason Elliott BL Lecturer in Law and Barrister

Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University.  As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation. This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal.   At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Background

The claimant made claims relating to discrimination on the grounds of disability, breaches of national minimum wage regulations and lack of notice of dismissal.  These claims were rebuffed by the Respondent who argued that the claimant had never been employed by her nor was she a worker of hers.

The start of the relationship arose when the respondent established her own dance class.  She knew the claimant as both of their daughters attended a previous dance class and it was from their unhappiness that the respondent established her own dance class.  The claimant contacted the respondent asking if she could play some part in the classes.  There was a fundamental disagreement about the conversations that occurred prior to the dance class being established.  The respondent stated that the claimant agreed to be a volunteer receptionist when the classes were taking place whereas the claimant stated there was an agreement that she would be an employee and that she would be paid when the dance classes started to make money.

The claimant applied to become a chaperone and on the respondent’s advice she indicated that she was a part-time employee.  In terms of the receptionist work, the claimant did regularly do this but there were occasions when she did not as she was busy doing something else.  The claimant was told that her services as a receptionist were no longer required but relations were still cordial.   However, there was an allegation that the claimant had made inappropriate contact with a child and it was passed on to the claimant, but no further investigation was undertaken.

The Tribunal looked at the evidence and whilst the claimant tried to make a point of a lack of volunteer agreement the Tribunal held that the absence of a contract of employment was more remarkable.  Furthermore, the claimant had been claiming benefits and there was no indication that she had been employed at any time during her claim.  In light of this, the claimant was regarded as a volunteer rather than a worker or an employee.  It was further held that as a result of X v Mid Sussex CAB it is clear that volunteers are unable to claim discrimination in line with the legislation.  Therefore, all claims were dismissed.

Practical Lessons

This case may seem like a straightforward matter when it comes to employment status but there are some pertinent lessons to be taken from this.  The most overarching is the lack of applicability of discrimination protection when it comes to volunteers compared to employees/workers.  A further point is the wider context to be considered such as extraneous factors like the benefit claim. 
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc8a4178fa8f547553928af/Ms_T_Armitage_v_Johanna_Marie_Boor_2301007-2019.pdf

Continue reading

We help hundreds of people like you understand how the latest changes in employment law impact your business.

Already a subscriber?

Please log in to view the full article.

What you'll get:

  • Help understand the ramifications of each important case from NI, GB and Europe
  • Ensure your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with NI law
  • 24/7 access to all the content in the Legal Island Vault for research case law and HR issues
  • Receive free preliminary advice on workplace issues from the employment team

Already a subscriber? Log in now or start a free trial

Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 08/12/2020