Care should be taken if an employer is considering dismissing an apprentice, as a higher legal threshold applies for terminating a contract of apprenticeship in Scotland compared to other employees.

In our latest podcast, Nikita Sandhu discusses the case of Hassan v Commsworld Ltd with David Hossack and highlights why the employer was found to have unlawfully terminated their apprentice's contract.  It was accepted in this case that the individual was a common law apprentice. Even if a contract describes the arrangement as an apprenticeship, if the key features of a common law apprenticeship are not present then it is open to the Employment Tribunal or Court to find that the individual was not, in fact, a common law apprentice. 

Please note that the above applies to the law of Scotland. Different considerations apply to apprentices in England and Wales.