| Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Bottrill | |
| Court: | Court of Appeal of England and Wales |
| Date Decided: | 12 February 1999 |
| Citations: | [1999] EWCA Civ 781, [1999] BCC 177, [1999] ICR 592 |
| Judges: | Lord Woolf MR, Peter Gibson LJ and Mantell LJ |
| Keywords: | Lifting the corporate veil, employee |
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Bottrill [1999] EWCA Civ 781 is a UK company law and UK labour law case, which relates to issues such as lifting the corporate veil and the definition of "employee".
Mr Bottrill was the managing director of the insolvent Magnatech UK Ltd, the fact that he was the only shareholder did not preclude his claim for unpaid wages (£346.15 a week) from the National Insurance Fund. Mr Bottrill’s sole shareholding was merely a temporary measure before the American Magnatech Group would take over ownership.
Lord Woolf MR held that Mr Bottrill was an "employee" for the purpose of access to the statutory compensation fund.