Legal Case Summary
Yewen v Noakes [1880] 6 QBD 530
The definition of an employee.
Facts
There was a statutory exemption for premises which were occupied by a “servant” or person occupying the premises “for the protection thereof.” A man and his family occupied a number of rooms within an office building on the alleged basis that he was the caretaker of the building owner. The man was a clerk who was paid a salary of 150 pounds per annum.
Issue
The question arose as to whether the man constituted an employee of the building owner for the purposes of exempting the premises from statutory tax duties.
Decision / Outcome
The Court of Appeal held that an employee, or a servant to adopt the Court’s nomenclature, is defined as a “person who is subject to the command of his master as to the manner in which he shall do his work.” (pp 3-4). On the facts of the case, the Court held that the man was not a “servant” or an employee of the building owner as the owner had no right to control the man’s work and manner in which it was done. The man earned a salary of 150 pounds per annum in his separate role as a clerk and merely enjoyed residence of the building with his family members. Thus, he did not constitute an employee of the building owner for tax purposes.
Updated 20 March 2026
This article accurately summarises the decision in Yewen v Noakes (1880) 6 QBD 530, which established the classic ‘control test’ for distinguishing employees from independent contractors. The legal principle described remains historically accurate.
However, readers should be aware that employment status law has developed considerably since 1880. The control test is now only one of several factors considered by courts and tribunals. Subsequent case law, including Ready Mixed Concrete (South East) Ltd v Minister of Pensions and National Insurance [1968] 2 QB 497, identified multiple indicia of employment, and more recently the Supreme Court in Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher [2011] UKSC 41 and the Supreme Court’s decision in Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 have further developed the framework for determining employment status. Additionally, statute now recognises a distinct category of ‘worker’ under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Working Time Regulations 1998, which sits between employee and independent contractor. The article should therefore be read as an introduction to the historical foundation of employment status law rather than a complete statement of the current legal position.
