Lap dancing employees?

To qualify to bring a claim against your Employer in the Employment Tribunal, you must, amongst other factors, be an “employee” of the Company, employed under a “Contract of Employment”.

Many employers have made strenuous attempts to try and limit their risk to Employment Tribunal claims by hiring people on, what they say is, a “self-employed” basis, which is normally done by having them enter into complex agreements, which actually have very little resemblance to how the relationship works in practice. Such people are told they have to agree to pay their own tax and national insurance and go without paid holidays. People looking for work often have very little choice but to accept the agreement presented to them.

However, Tribunals are well aware of this power imbalance and take it into account when considering what the correct legal relationship is and establishing whether a person has “employee status”.


However, in an unusual recent case involving a lap dancer at Stringfellows restaurants, there were various documents including the Club Agreement, House Rules, Booklet, license and the Rota. She was described in these as self employed and believed initially that was the case. She only worked on certain nights of the week and danced in accordance with the Rota. However, she was not paid directly by Stringfellows, and instead received vouchers direct from customers, which she then exchanged for cash, having taken into account certain expenses (dress repairs/makeup etc).



After being dismissed from her role, she brought a claim against Stringfellows in the Employment Tribunal, on the basis that she did qualify as an employee. The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that once there was a contract for paid work, the only issue was whether there was the degree of control necessary to make it into a "contract of employment".



This case once again emphasises the importance of 'control' in determining in many instances what the correct legal position is and whether "employee status" can be established.

If you have control over what, when and how often you work, then you are probably self employed, but if you cannot make these decisions, then there is a substantial likelihood that you are in fact an employee whatever the paperwork says.

New Year - New Changes!

The Law is forever changing in Employment, so here are a few of the key changes Employees and Employers should watch out for this year…

The Awards for Unfair Dismissal Claims are due to rise!

The maximum awards for Unfair Dismissal claims are due to rise in February. As mentioned in our last Blog, this is due to the maximum weekly pay rising from £400 to £430, which in turn means the maximum Basic Award will rise from £12,000 to £12,900 and the maximum Compensatory Award from £68,400 to £72,300.

The rise in Tribunal Awards means Employers should be all the more careful to ensure that they follow the correct Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedures, so as to avoid Employees being able to bring a successful claim in the Tribunal.

Note: The increase in weekly pay will also affect the maximum claim for Redundancy, which will also now rise from £12,000 to £12,900.

The Right to Claim Unfair Dismissal – Good for Employers, bad for Employees

The minimum length of time that an Employee must have worked for their Employer in order to qualify to make a claim for Unfair Dismissal is due to rise in April from one year’s continuous service to two years. Therefore, although the Awards for Claims are rising, the number of claims being made is likely to fall.

Increase in Rates

Also in April, the weekly rates of Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave Pay are due to rise from £128.73 to £135.45. The rate of Statutory Sick Pay will also rise from £81.60 to £85.85.

More Scope for Parents

As from April, parents will now be entitled to take a period of up to four months unpaid Parental Leave, instead of only three months.

Employees should however always refer to their individual Contracts of Employment to see what restrictions or conditions, if any, have been put in place with regards to when and how often the unpaid leave can be taken.

Big Businesses, Big Pensions

As from October, businesses with more than 120,000 employees should ensure their employees are ‘automatically enrolled’ into a pension scheme. It is believed that the ‘automatic-enrollment’ will gradually be introduced to businesses with fewer employees over time.