Groom v Maritime and Coastguard Agency [2024]
Decision Number: EAT 71 Legal Body: Employment Appeal Tribunal (England & Wales)
Published on: 16/05/2024
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Jason Elliott BL Barrister & Associate Head of School of Law, Ulster University
Jason Elliott BL Barrister & Associate Head of School of Law, Ulster University
Jason elliott new
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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.

Claimant:
Martin Groom
Respondent:
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Summary

A volunteer was found to be a worker as a result of the contract between the parties and the provision of personal service.

Background

The respondent is responsible for civil maritime search and rescue.  It is made up of 108 employed staff and 3500 volunteer Coastal Rescue Officers.  The claimant was one of these Volunteer Coastal Rescue Officers having been so since 1985.  In May 2020 the claimant was invited to a disciplinary meeting and his membership of the Coastguard Rescue Service was terminated.    The actual issue arising was the employment status of the claimant as having worker status would have engaged the right to be accompanied at the disciplinary hearing.

Outcome

The Tribunal, at first instance, found that

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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 16/05/2024