McMeechan v Secretary of State for Employment
| McMeechan v Secretary of State for Employment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Court of Appeal of England and Wales |
| Decided | 11 December 1996 |
| Citation(s) | [1996] EWCA Civ 1166, [1995] IRLR 461, [1997] IRLR 353 |
| Case opinions | |
| Waite LJ, Potter LJ and McCowan LJ | |
| Keywords | |
| Contract of employment | |
McMeechan v Secretary of State for Employment [1996] EWCA Civ 1166 is a UK labour law case concerning the scope of protection for people to employment rights. It took the view that an agency worker did have an employment contract for the purpose of claiming for unpaid wages on an employer's insolvency.
Facts
Mr McMeechan's employer went insolvent, and so he claimed the wages he did not get from the Minister. He had been registered with an agency called Noel Employment Ltd, without a written contract, but with a job description of each assignment. He claimed £105 for four days work. In his contract he agreed ‘to fulfil the normal common law duties which an employee would owe to an employer so far as they are applicable’
The Employment Tribunal held he was not an employee. The Employment Appeal Tribunal overturned the Tribunal. The Secretary of State appealed.
Judgment
Waite LJ held that Mr McMeechan was an employee of the agency for this period and so he could claim from the Secretary of State for unpaid wages.
| “ | Each engagement is capable, according to its context, of giving rise to a contract of employment. That was acknowledged in Nethermere… | ” |
Potter LJ and McCowan LJ agreed.
See also
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- Contract of employment in English law
- UK labour law
- UK insolvency law
- EU labour law
- US labor law
- German labour law