Caren v Irish Hockey Company Ltd by Guarantee [2019]

The claimant was a sports coach and had undertaken work with the respondent in coaching hockey.  This had been from 2010 until it came to an end in 2018.   The claimant alleged that he was unfairly dismissed in 2018, yet the respondent argued that Northern Ireland was not the correct jurisdiction and, even if it was, the claimant was not an employee  - therefore could not avail of the right of unfair dismissal within the Employment Rights (NI) Order 1996.

The issue with jurisdiction largely arose on the basis that there was a lack of any contemporaneous of written documentation that formalised the relationship between the parties.  Therefore, it was not fully known