Examiner wins ET case which rules that she is a ‘worker’ and not self-employed

In the case of Ms P Anning V Pearson Education Limited the London Central Employment Tribunal has ruled that an examiner  is a ‘worker’ for the purposes of section 230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (“ERA 1996”) and regulation 2 (applying limb (b) of the relevant definition of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (“WTR 1998”).

In the case of Ms P Anning V Pearson Education Limited the London Central Employment Tribunal has ruled that an examiner  is a ‘worker’ for the purposes of section 230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (“ERA 1996”) and regulation 2 (applying limb (b) of the relevant definition of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (“WTR 1998”).

The National Education Union (NEU) brought a test case to the ET seeking worker status for one of its members working for Pearson Education Limited.

Many NEU members have worked for Pearson writing exam papers, setting grade boundaries, dealing with grade appeals, and ensuring the smooth running and consistent marking of exams across the country for many years without ever being classed as a worker or enjoying any of the rights associated with that such as holiday pay, minimum wage and protection against unlawful discrimination.

The situation came to the attention of the NEU when members started contacting them during Covid, when summer exams were cancelled and senior examiners – many of whom rely on this work as their sole income – were left with cancelled contracts and no way to pay their bills. Pearson refused to furlough these individuals, claiming they were self-employed, whilst HMRC indicated they were not eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme as they believed they were employed.

Pearson will pay the sum of £5320 for holiday pay.

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Why so many smart leaders are terrible at leading people

29 July 2025

Talent Management

29 July 2025

Deepfake interviews. Synthetic faces. Tampered documents. As generative AI reshapes identity fraud, traditional screening methods are being put to the test. Giant Screening CEO Mathew...

Worklife Balance

28 July 2025

The issue isn’t just about time management; it’s about mental bandwidth. The cognitive load of managing multiple priorities can leave little room for self-care, creativity,...

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

Queen Mary University of London – IT Services DirectorateSalary: £54,617 to £60,901 per annum This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered.

University of Sussex – Human Resources Salary: £25,733 to £29,179. Grade 4, per annum, pro rata if part time This provides summary information and comment

UCL – Chemistry Department / Faculty of Mathematical & Physical SciencesSalary: £54,172 to £63,752 This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered.

University of Oxford – Department of PsychiatrySalary: £31,459 to £36,616 (discretionary range to £39,749) per annum. Grade 5 This provides summary information and comment on

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE