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Homeworkers
[ch 2: pages 49-50]The fact that someone works at home has no legal effect on their employment status. As always, that status will be decided by applying the tests described at the start of this chapter.
There is nothing in principle to prevent a homeworker being an employee, although depending on the facts, it may be difficult to demonstrate the necessary right of “control”. For example:
A group of female homeworkers brought claims for unfair dismissal and redundancy against Industrial Rubber, for whom they had worked at home trimming excess rubber from moulded products. The EAT decided that Industrial Rubber lacked the supervisory control needed to establish a relationship of employer and employee.
Bridges and others v Industrial Rubber [2004] All ER 261
The position of “homeworkers” in relation to the national minimum wage is looked at on page 100, Chapter 4. Surprisingly, under section 35(1) of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, there is no requirement for a homeworker to do the work personally in order to qualify for the national minimum wage (James v Redcats [2007] ICR 1006).