The extent of the jurisdiction of employment tribunals to hear claims involving employees working outside the UK has resulted in a heated debate among employment lawyers in the UK.
Three recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions have contributed to the controversy. One of the decisions, if it stands (leave has been granted to appeal), is likely to reverse the downward trend in the numbers of tribunal applications. In any event, owing to the conflict between two of the decisions, HR practitioners, lawyers and clients will remain unclear about the appropriate test to apply to determine whether or not an employee working outside the UK may bring a claim in a UK employment tribunal.
