Tiffin v Lester Aldridge LLP [2012] EWCA Civ 35
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Published on: 03/02/2012
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Background
This case considers the circumstances in which an individual who enters into a members' agreement in a limited liability partnership may be considered to be an employee. The claimant is a former member of the limited liability partnership (LLP) and acted as a solicitor. Prior to the firm becoming an LLP, the claimant had been a fixed share partner. He then made a contribution to capital when he signed the members agreement and received a small share of the profits. The claimant then then left the respondent LLP due to his failure to establish a sufficient client base. He made claims for Unfair Dismissal, breach of contract and statutory redundancy when he parted company with the LLP. The Court of Appeal considered whether a partner could also be an employee.Rimer LJ, giving the lead judgement, points out one or two problems with this:"Whilst I suspect that the average conscientious self-employed professional or business person commonly regards himself as his hardest master, such perception is inaccurate as a matter of legal principle. That is because in law an individual cannot be an employee of 21himself. Nor can a partner in a partnership be an employee of the partnership, because it is equally not possible for an individual to be an employee of himself and his co-partners…”The Court agreed with the EAT that the claimant was a member and not an employee, and that no minimum threshold had to be reached regarding a person‟s rights to profit or management before they can be considered a member. The judgment of the Court did not make it clear which factors were the most important in determining employment status but relatively minor differences have the potential to be determinative.http://bit.ly/wDSXIv
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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 03/02/2012
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