Sudden celebrity chefs

CASE STUDY

Rachel, a restaurateur, runs an upmarket establishment in central London, which prides itself on using only organic produce. Rachel employs Cedric, the head chef, who has performed this role since the restaurant opened in 1998.

Due to the growing interest in organic food, the restaurant has recently attracted critics. The reviews, which have been favourable, have appeared in various publications and Cedric has received a lot of media attention. He has now been approached to present his own peak-time TV cookery programme and to publish a book of his recipes.

Rachel is obviously delighted that the profile of the restaurant will be raised through her "celebrity chef". However, she is concerned about whether she, as employer, is entitled to use Cedric's name (in connection with the restaurant and, if possible, more widely) and to claim any share of the income earned by Cedric from his celebrity-related activities.

Contacts

Alexandra Joffe, Berwin Leighton Paisner & Co Relations 020 7396 5100 ajoffe@paisner.co.uk

Employment Law and Industrial Helpline 020 7427 1115

This case study is a work of fiction and consequently the names, characters and incidents portrayed in the article are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is coincidental

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Alex Joffe is a solicitor at Berwin Leighton Paisner & Co

The law does not automatically give Rachel, as employer, any entitlement to income earned through exploitation of Cedric's personality or the right to use his name. Rather, the relationship between Rachel and Cedric is governed by the employment contract. Assuming that the contract between Cedric and Rachel is very basic, the following implications may arise:

• Rachel will not be entitled to Cedric's exclusive services and he will be free to work for other people when he is not working at the restaurant.

• Rachel may want to publicise her connection with Cedric and use his name in connection with the title of the restaurant and promotional material, for which she will need Cedric's consent - but he may agree to this only in return for a pay rise or other incentive, such as a share of the restaurant profits.

• Cedric may demand a right to approve suppliers, ingredients, décor, etc - the more famous the chef, the more he will demand.

The outcome of negotiations concerning these issues will probably be in Cedric's favour, as his steep rise to fame has increased his bargaining power. Cedric's ultimate weapon in such negotiations is to threaten to walk out. As Cedric is now a very valuable asset, Rachel will want to retain his services, which may mean that she will have to make concessions to which she would otherwise not have agreed.

But if Rachel and Cedric had entered into a comprehensive employment contract from the outset, she would have been in a more secure position, with the following benefits:

• Rachel could have ensured that Cedric works exclusively for her - this would have to be renegotiated to allow Cedric to perform his celebrity activities, but Rachel would be able to use this as a bargaining tool.

• The agreement would allow Rachel to use Cedric's name to promote the restaurant, free of charge, for the duration of his employment; further, if Rachel had included a long notice period (see below), she would be able to use Cedric's name for as long as possible.

• Under copyright law, Rachel will own the rights to Cedric's recipes (if created during working time) and Cedric would not be allowed to publish a book of those recipes without Rachel's consent; if the contract specified that a percentage of profits from sales of the book would go to Rachel, it would avoid arguing this issue at a later stage.

• Rachel could have insisted on a long notice period, which would enable her to retain Cedric for as long as possible; she would also be able to use this as a negotiating tool and agree to reduce the notice period in return for concessions from Cedric.

• Rachel could also prevent Cedric from working for competitors, within a certain radius of her restaurant, and for a specific time period.

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