A solicitor who accepted a redundancy package and then became a consultant to work on a specified list of files has failed to convince an employment tribunal that he was an employee throughout.
Nicholas Mills sued Wolverhampton firm Stephensons (not to be confused with the North-West practice of the same name), claiming unfair dismissal, breach of contract/wrongful dismissal and unpaid holiday pay.
The tribunal held a preliminary hearing to consider the effective date of termination and his employment status after 14 February 2022, when he signed a redundancy agreement.
Mr Mills, a personal injury and employment solicitor, worked at the firm for just under 13 years before accepting a redundancy package that included payment in lieu of notice, accrued holiday pay, and 10,608 in statutory redundancy pay.
On the same day, Mr Mills signed a consultancy agreement, starting three days later.
The consultancy role was clearly defined; Mr Mills was to complete “a finite and exhaustive list of personal injury and related matters”.
The tribunal recorded that he determined when, where and how the work was performed and was under “minimal supervision”. Mr Mills stayed in this role for two years until the final file on the list had been completed, invoicing consultancy fees totalling nearly 85,000.
Employment Judge Hussain held: “The work was project-based, outcome-linked, and commercially structured in a manner consistent with an independent contractor relationship.
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