James v Redcats: What Was the Dominant Purpose?
In James v Redcats (Brands) Ltd [2007] ICR 1006, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered the dominant purpose or feature of the agreement.
The question was whether the arrangement was mainly intended to obtain the individual’s personal work or whether personal service was only incidental to a separate commercial agreement.
The claimant distributed newspapers, and the Tribunal concluded that the dominant purpose was the delivery of the newspapers rather than requiring her personally to perform every delivery.
Key finding
Personal service must be an important feature of the agreement. It is not enough that the individual happens to do most of the work personally.
Lesson
Ask whether the contractor is buying your personal labour or simply paying your independent business to achieve a result.