Quick employment query

[AlmightyCitrus]

If you worked as a volunteer in a charity shop and you were sacked, can you sue for unfair dismissal?

(As far as I know the dismissal was quite justified, but several weeks down the line she's starting to make a fuss and threatening legal action)

Thanks

If you are not an employee you can't be dismissed - fairly or otherwise

on what basis ? Did she have a contract ?

No contract, just volunteered a few hours 1 day a week. Lets just say that she was fond of slagging off the other staff on facebook (screen shots have been kept), didn't follow correct procedures when using the till (not implying that she stole anything, but she put everything on the same button if you understand, rather than different buttons for different departments which causes a bit of a headache for stock systems), didn't really pull her weight, general "stuff" really.

She wasn't "you're fired" sacked, but told that she wasn't needed any more.

Surely if you dont have a contract of employment you cant sue your employer for breaching that (non existent) contract?
Employment comes under contract law I believe - actually it comes under employment law - but contract law is in there somewhere!

Well, I wouldn't of thought so, but the person in question reckons that someone has advised her otherwise.

It is possible under some circumstances for volunteers to become employees in the eyes of the law. Unfortunately there haven't been many employment tribunal decisions and they have sometimes been inconsistent. The situation was clarified to some extent in a 2004 decision by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a case where the original tribunal had ruled that CAB volunteers could be regarded as in employment. The EAT disagreed and ruled that things such as payment of expenses, provision of training, grievance and disciplinary procedures and a request for notice if a volunteer was going to stop volunteering were not enough to lead to the volunteer being employed. However, if there was, for example, a minimum time commitment with sanctions in place if volunteers fail to meet that commitment it is possible that tribunals would give her the protection of employment legislation.

Thanks!

Given the circumstances I don't think that she could be regarded as in employment, and I strongly suspect that she could of been legitimately fired if it had been a "proper" job.

Surely there has to be some kind of loss suffered in order to win compensation at an employment tribunal?

What loss could an unpaid volunteer have suffered?

None as far as I can see! She's got the hump and wants everyone else to be miserable too.

TBH I can't see a tribunal application being accepted as there is no possibility of her having suffered any loss so it would be a waste of the tribunal's time even considering the case.

She is just blowing off hot air and hasn't a clue what she is talking about.

Yes unfair dismissal compensation is purely based on financial loss incurred, so even if she were considered an employee and therefore within her rights to bring a claim in the first place, it would be utterly pointless doing so as she has not lost anything because of the decision.