The Highland Council

Case Summary

Three professional musicians (a piper, fiddle player, and accordionist) claimed unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, holiday pay, and failure to provide statements of employment particulars against The Highland Council. The tribunal held that while the claimants were not employees, they were 'workers' during the times they taught lessons at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music, and therefore entitled to pursue holiday pay and statement of particulars claims.

The tribunal found that while the claimants lacked the requisite degree of personal service and control to be classified as employees, they were workers during the times they taught lessons because they undertook personal service when teaching, meeting the broad statutory definition of worker status. The claimants' claims for unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal were therefore dismissed as the tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear them, but their holiday pay and statement of particulars claims could proceed as worker claims.

Use these claim-type pages to compare this decision with other published tribunal cases, outcome patterns, and visible award data.

• •Whether claimants were 'employees' or 'workers' of the respondent
• •Personal service requirement
• •Control and integration of claimants into the organisation
• •Economic reality of the relationship
• •Substitution rights and discretion

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