A consultant brought in by a firm to attract Turkish clients was not an employee, an employment tribunal had found.
Ahmet Guler claimed to have been offered £2,000 per month plus 40% commission of fees for clients he introduced to north London practice Newman Law LLP. But the firm denied offering him a job as a paralegal and said Guler was offered a consultancy position with the prospect of taking 40% of fees generated from clients he brought in.
The relationship was terminated by the firm in January 2022 after two months. Guler had received one payment of £1,000, which was offered as an advance on his commission.
Guler claimed for unauthorised deduction from wages and breach of contract relating to pay. The firm denied any liability, stating that he was a consultant and as such neither a worker nor an employee.
Sitting in the Watford tribunal, Employment Judge French found Guler was not an employee because there was no evidence of a contract of employment, whether orally or in writing.
Sarah Sohrabi, a partner with the firm, told the tribunal that while other paralegals were on salaries of approximately £20,000 a year, they did not earn commission on top of that. She also stated that one of the consultants of the firm received 40% of the fees that they generated and others received 50%, but they did not receive a salary on top of that commission.
The judge accepted the firm’s submission that it would not pay both a salary and commission and that this was industry practice.
However Guler was found to be a worker who had a contract for services. He was required to attend the office and there was a degree of control over the hours, location and work done. He was integrated into the firm with an email address and phone number, with an agreement that he was a consultant using his connections with the Turkish community who would refer work to be undertaken by a qualified partner.
The judge found that Guler was entitled to bring a claim for unauthorised deduction from wages, which after taking into account the £1,000 commission amounted to an extra £92.48. He should also receive an extra £252.11 as an award for two weeks’ pay.
