National Highways Ltd

Case Summary

The claimant appealed the employment tribunal's dismissal of complaints under the Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 relating to not being offered HRBP training while on a fixed-term contract. The EAT held the tribunal erred in requiring a discrete finding of detriment when less favourable treatment regarding training opportunity is established, but upheld the tribunal's findings that the treatment was objectively justified on cost and business grounds and the complaint was out of time.

The tribunal erred by importing an additional requirement for a discrete finding of detriment when assessing whether a fixed-term employee was treated less favourably regarding training opportunity under regulation 3(2)(b), as such treatment is inherently detrimental. However, the tribunal did not err in concluding that the treatment was objectively justified (cost and the claimant's impending departure at the end of the fixed-term contract were legitimate considerations) or that the complaint was presented out of time.

• •Whether the tribunal erred in requiring a discrete finding of detriment under Fixed-Term Employees Regulations 2002 regulation 3(1)(b) when less favourable treatment relating to training opportunity is found
• •Whether the tribunal erred in finding the treatment was objectively justified on cost and contract-end grounds
• •Whether the tribunal erred in finding the complaint was out of time
• •Whether the respondent breached the implied duty of trust and confidence in relation to career development

Judgment approved by the court for handing down Komeng v National Highways Ltd © EAT 2026 Page 1 [2026] EAT 75 Neutral Citation Number: [2026] EAT 75 Case No: EA-2024-000118-TH EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL Rolls Building Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL Date: 20 May 2026 Before: HIS HONOUR JUDGE AUERBACH - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between: MR E KOMENG Appellant - and – NATIONAL HIGHWAYS LIMITED Respondent - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Roisin Swords-Kieley (instructed via Advocate) for the Appellant Edmund Beever (instructed by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP) for the Respondent Hearing date: 17 March 2026 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JUDGMENT Judgment approved by the court for handing down Komeng v National Highways Ltd © EAT 2026 Page 2 [2026] EAT 75 SUMMARY Fixed-Term Employees Regulations Where a fixed-term employee is found to have been treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee in relation to the opportunity to receive training, pursuant to reg. 3(2) Fixed- Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002, that constitutes less favourable treatment contrary to reg. 3(1), subject to reg. 3(3). There is no requirement in such a case for a discrete additional finding that the employee has thereby been subjected to a detriment. The outcome of the complaint will then turn on whether, pursuant to reg. 3(3), the treatment is on the ground that the employee is a fixed-term employee and is not justified on objective grounds. I…