Beauty consultant not protected under Equality Act

She provided her services through a limited company to a business which supplied staff to a third party to work in an airport duty free outlet. There was a power of substitution which was occasionally used; furthermore the Tribunal had found that the requirement of subordination from employer to employee was not satisfied. Consequently the individual was not subject to the outlet’s control and was generally not bound to act on its instructions so she could not bring a claim under the Equality Act. Since there was no incompatibility with European Law identified, there was no requirement to make a reference to the ECJ.

This legal update is provided for general information purposes only and should not be applied to specific circumstances without prior consultation with us.

For further details on any of the issues covered in this update please contact Gemma Ospedale, Partner in Employment on 020 7583 2222.