''Carmichael v National Power plc'' UKHL_47
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UKHL 47
is a British labour law">999
UKHL 47
is a British labour law case on the contract of employment for the purpose of the

Employment Rights Act 1996 The Employment Rights Act 1996 (c. 18) is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament passed by the Conservative government to codify existing law on individual rights in UK labour law. History Previous statutes, dating from the Contracts of Employment ...

Facts

Tour guides had complained that they hadn't received written statement of the employment contracts under s.1 of the

. They worked at Blyth Power Stations in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, for the

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...

. Their hiring contracts said ‘I am pleased to note that you are agreeable to be employed by the C.E.G.B. at Blyth ‘A’ and ‘B’ power stations on a casual as required basis as a station guide.’

Judgment

The House of Lords decided that they were not employees for the purpose of s 1, because there was not sufficient 'mutuality of obligation' when the guides were not actually guiding.

Lord Irvine of Lairg Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, (born 23 June 1940), known as Derry Irvine, is a Scottish lawyer, judge and political figure who served as Lord Chancellor under his former pupil barrister, Tony Blair. Education Irvine wa ...

said that there would not have been an ‘irreducible minimum of mutuality of obligation necessary to create a contract of service’ (relying on '' Nethermere'') between the times actually working (while working the situation would be different). Their claim failed on the basis that on many occasions they would be called up but say they could not work.

Lord Hoffmann Leonard Hubert "Lennie" Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann (born 8 May 1934) is a retired senior South African–British judge. He served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1995 to 2009. Well known for his lively decisions and willingness to break w ...

stated, at 1233,

"…the terms of the contract are a question of fact. And of course the question of whether the parties intended a document or documents to be the exclusive record of the terms of their agreement is also a question of fact."

"The evidence of a party as to what terms he understood to have been agree is some evidence tending to show that those terms, in an objective sense, were agreed. Of course the tribunal may reject such evidence and conclude that the party misunderstood the effect of what was being said and done. But when both parties are agreed about what they understood their mutual obligations (or lack of them) to be, it is a strong thing to exclude their evidence from consideration."
999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...
I.C.R. 1226, 1235

Notes

{{reflist, 2

References

*E McGaughey, ''A Casebook on Labour Law'' (Hart 2018) ch 3

External links

*Text of the full judgment
18 November 1999
United Kingdom labour case law House of Lords cases 1999 in United Kingdom case law Electric power in the United Kingdom

Facts

Judgment

See also

Notes

References

External links