Road traffic

Defendant supplying drivers for claimant's goods vehicles - claimant only holding operator's licence - drivers temporary deemed servants of claimantInterlink Express Parcels Ltd v Night Trunkers Ltd and Another: CA (Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss President, Lords Justices Hale and Arden): 14 March 2001The first defendant supplied drivers under an agreement to the claimant, which specified the driver qualifications necessary, directed the routes, instructed the drivers on cleaning, time sheet completion, and servicing and were able, through the first defendant, to institute disciplinary action for failure to observe those instructions express or implied.While the claimant held the required operator's licence under section 2 of the Goods Vehicle (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995, the first defendant did not and the judge, on a preliminary issue, found the agreement void for illegality.

The first defendant appealed on the grounds that the judge had been wrong to have found that the first defendant's drivers could not be deemed to be the temporary servants of the claimant for the purposes of section 58(2) of the Act.David Phillips QC and Richard Serlin (instructed by Fenwick Elliott) for the first defendant; Simeon Maskrey QC and Raoul Downey (instructed by Browne Jacobson, Nottingham) for the claimant.Held, allowing the appeal, that in the context of temporary deemed employment the paramount test was that of control; that since on the facts the claimant had the right to control the way in which the first defendant's drivers operated the vehicles the drivers were properly to be regarded as temporary deemed servants of the claimant, despite the fact that they were paid by the first defendant; and that, accordingly, the agreement was not void for illegality.