With Christmas around the corner and Black Friday deals well underway, now is not only the beginning of the season to be jolly but also the season of round the clock courier deliveries. The online shopping boom means couriers are busier every year and this shines a light on the gig economy. We have long [...]
The end of September brings two things: The awakening of the singer from Green Day; and our monthly employment law update. Last month’s update had features on the Boris Johnson burqa scandal, outsourcing and an employee sacked for having a man bun. Meanwhile, last week’s case law update had cases on constructive dismissal and unfair […]
Late last year, we covered the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) case of IWGB v Roo Foods Limited t/a Deliveroo. Whilst we don’t usually cover cases from the CAC this case was relevant to the gig economy because it held Deliveroo couriers were not eligible for union recognition because of a clause in their contract that […]
Zero-hours contracts and the gig economy are two of the biggest employment law issues of the year. Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics suggests numbers have risen by a further 100,000 over the past 12 months. The rise might be due to an increased awareness of the issue meaning workers know they are […]
The gig economy is an issue that urgently needed addressing this year. The Taylor Report, whilst lacking teeth, did outline some suggestions to improve conditions for the 1.1 million people currently doing gig work. The Government however, has not implemented the report well and the proposals do not really address any of the issues with […]
2017 was the year of the rise and public awakening to the gig economy. Part of this is down to the sheer mass of cases gig economy companies have been involved with, especially Uber! The latest case, which had judgment passed down 5 days before Christmas, is from the European Court of Justice. The case before the […]
Welcome back to your weekly case law update. Last week we looked at two cases, one of them concerning equal pay, the other a right to privacy. The latter of those cases was an ECHR case that could have significant impact on email and social media monitoring both during recruitment and the course of employment. This week […]
On paper the UK labour economy is one of the best in the world. Employment rates are at an all-time high and wages for the lowest earners are growing at their fastest rate for 20 years. However, much of this ‘employment’ is in zero hours or ‘gig’ work and actual pay remains below the pre-financial […]
Over the past 12 months Sports Direct has deserved all the flak it received for the atrocious conditions reported in its warehouses. However, unfortunately it seems it isn’t the only sportswear brand that treats its staff terribly. In a recent newspaper report, it was found that staff at JD Sports were threatened with dismissal if they sat […]
The gig economy has been an issue we have been covering for most of the year. The recent Uber decision has highlighted that the judiciary will look at each case of alleged self-employment with a degree of scepticism and the government have echoed a similar sentiment. The latest update on the gig economy is that Uber is now facing […]
Last month we examined the gig economy and briefly mentioned food delivery firm, Deliveroo, whose contracts breach s203 of the employment rights act by preventing staff from bringing Tribunal claims about their employment status. Deliveroo workers go on strike This month staff at Deliveroo have gone on strike after the company proposed to pay them £3.75 per […]
Those of you who are regular readers will know that Sports Direct has made headlines for its incredibly poor working conditions. Most of the staff subjected to these conditions are actually either self-employed or agency staff who have fewer employment rights and less job security than normal workers. It has been heralded as a sign the economy […]
Many of you may know of the taxi app, Uber and its army of self-employed drivers. The company has gone from strength to strength with its innovative way of delivering cheap and reliable taxis in a short space of time. However, one black cloud that hangs over the company is its treatment of drivers. The […]
