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The On The Employment Rights Act

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In 1996, The Employment Rights Act was introduced, an employee was defined therein as an individual who works under contracts of employment, however it fails to define what is meant by a ‘contract of service’. A retrospective view of the UK indicates that there is no generic denotation of an ‘employee’ created through legislative processes. It is imperative to note the court is the major determinant of the status of the parties in an employment relationship. The court therefore put together a series of tests to regulate employment contracts which involves an application of diverse common law tests distinguished by Simon Deakin and Gillian Morris in 2000. The primary classes of those tests are; • The control test • The integration test • The economic reality test • The mutuality of obligation test • The multiple test This essay will critically assess the tests that separate contract of services and contract for services and if one test is a sufficient determinant. It will also explore the consequences of concluding that a person is an employee. Initially, the courts used a single test known as the “control test”. At this point employees were not specialized like what is obtainable today. This test emerged in the connection with imputed negligence and it appeared to be sensible to consider the authority over employee by an employer. Bramwell LJ said on account of Yewens v Noakes (1880) that an employee is subordinate to his employer and takes instruction from his employer

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