[IER] Victory for bogus "self employed"

Fri Oct 28 16:53:42 BST 2016

IER News Brief 28/10/16

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news brief

Friday 28th October 2016

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Congratulations to GMB, which today won its case against Uber <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=2d0bf46b9a&e=71131c031b>  when Central London Employment Tribunal agreed drivers for the taxi app should be legally classified as 'workers'.

This is a landmark case that could change the lives of thousands of workers in the so-called "gig" economy, and is the latest in a series of news that shows the establishment is finally taking this issue seriously.

The Institute of Employment Rights has argued for years that bogus self employment is being used by employers to evade employment law, leaving vulnerable people without any rights in the workplace at all.

Initially, our work centred around the problem of misclassification of workers in the construction industry <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=f6af8ef0d6&e=71131c031b> , where firms have been exploiting this loophole for years. However, the effects of further deregulation and the recession have led to more and more companies taking liberties with their workers, resulting in today's "gig" economy, in which hundreds of thousands of workers have no access to hard-won rights including the minimum wage.

GMB's victory comes in the same week that the government's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee launched an inquiry <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=63a5591e67&e=71131c031b>  into the "gig" economy and its affect on workers.

The IER will respond to advocate for the recommendations laid out in our Manifesto for Labour Law <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=782bdfb296&e=71131c031b> . Under our proposals - already adopted by the Labour Party, which is currently looking into their implementation - a new 'employment status' would apply so that all workers (including agency workers, false-self-employed and others) would be brought under the protective umbrella of statutory rights. These rights would be universal in coverage (applying to all workers), available from day one and enforceable via collectively agreed procedures or in specialist labour courts.

These statutory rights would underpin the promotion of collective bargaining at both sectoral and enterprise level so that stronger rights can be agreed across industries.

The IER warns against the potential for this inquiry to lead to further fragmentation of labour law - with an increasingly complex set of 'statuses' leading to different tiers of entitlement and enforcement structures.

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 News and comment

 Workers' rights <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/b1c726de-bf3c-454c-9dd0-50d42672c9ff.png> 

	Victory for bogus "self employed"
The Institute of Employment Rights welcomes today's decision by the Central London Employment Tribunal that Uber drivers should be legally classified as 'workers', not as 'self employed', thereby entitling those working for the taxi app to fundamental employment rights they did not enjoy before.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=c5ca953324&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Low Pay <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/c9de063b-cd73-4fc5-8d13-fb67b7e3e040.png> 

	Underpayment of workers rockets by 73% in a year
New figures by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of people being paid below the minimum wage has rocketed by 73% in the last year.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=9744a5e86d&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Equality <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/41d5d27b-969b-4b55-bcb8-9a0e910471e3.png> 

	UK falls behind developing countries in terms of gender equality, new research shows
Gender inequality in the UK is worse than in developing economies such as Rwanda, Burundi, Nicaragua and Namibia, new research has found.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a84dda2872&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Steve Gillan <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/8920ca4a-47ef-4c48-aad7-26b50414fe7d.jpg> 

	POA: One-fits-all approach to workers' rights "doesn't make sense and creates unnecessary conflict"
A "one-fits-all" approach to workers' rights is not appropriate for all sections of the workforce, General Secretary of The Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (POA), Steve Gillan, has said, announcing his union's official support for the Institute of Employment Rights' proposals for the reform of employment law.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=896cf278a2&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 John Hendy QC on Building Fighting Unions in the Era of Jeremy Corbyn 

Our Chair John Hendy QC will speak at Unite Resistance's event on Saturday 12 November 2016. Click on the image to book your place for just £3, or free for the unwaged.

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  Publications

 EU Developments <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/fb25d1db-2c1e-4d50-8d47-17dc166f146f.jpeg> 

	Access to Justice: Exposing the myths: £6
By Andrew Moretta
In the second of IER’s series of Mythbusters, Andrew Moretta considers the many myths surrounding access to justice, including the narrative surrounding the “red tape” and “burdens on business” ideology, which he believes paved the way for systematic attacks on the tribunal system.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ca763b9307&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase

 Kill the Bill <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/3a996d1c-1459-4dfb-81b8-8901488dad8a.jpg> 

	Protect the right to strike: kill the bill: £5
By John Hendy QC & Professor Keith Ewing
Two leading experts on trade union rights – Professor Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC – publish a short but comprehensive overview of the Trade Union Bill and its implications.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=624c9cd6bd&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 

 Ballot Thresholds <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/cee8b19e-c2dc-452d-a284-b14209fbf568.jpg> 

	The Conservative Government’s proposed strike ballot thresholds: The challenge to trade unions: from £6
By Professor Ralph Darlington and Dr John Dobson
According to the authors of this timely report, the government is attempting to rush into law ‘the most sweeping and radical tightening of rules on industrial action since the Thatcher era of the 1980’s’. They warn that such proposals could result in ‘the biggest showdown over industrial relations for a generation’ and go on to drill down into one aspect of the government’s proposals – strike ballots.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=4fadf6246a&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 

 Keithe Ewing <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/6ac2ddd4-6bd6-4c3f-81ad-06fdb882171c.jpg> 

	The mythology of business: from £6
By David Whyte
The ‘myths’ that this publication takes into consideration are the kind of things that politicians now routinely say without thinking. Yet these 10 myths have very little foundation in reality and are rarely, if ever, accompanied with any concrete evidence to support them.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=4336fcd3d1&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 

  Events

 ELU London <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/8ef4ad46-3f93-4621-8f5e-8601d94a97cc.jpg> 

	LONDON: Employment Law Update 2016
09 November 2016 - 09:30 - 15:15
Unite the Union, London
Our annual Employment Law Update brings together legal and academic experts with a representative from the TUC. This year we are very pleased that our event will be opened with a keynote address from the President of the Tribunals, Judge Brian Doyle, updating us with an inside account of the current ET practices and procedures. . 
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=fe130325a2&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place

 ELU Liverpool <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/6bbca495-8ed6-4747-883d-63b5dc93bcc5.jpg> 

	LIVERPOOL: Employment Law Update 2016
29 November 2016 - 09:30 - 15:15
Unite the Union, Liverpool
Our annual Employment Law Update brings together legal and academic experts with a representative from the TUC. This year we are very pleased that our event will be opened with a keynote address from the President of the Tribunals, Judge Brian Doyle, updating us with an inside account of the current ET practices and procedures. . 
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=6a2bf7ab85&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place

To unsubscribe, please contact sarah at ier.org.uk <mailto:sarah at ier.org.uk?subject=Unsubscribe> . 

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Institute of Employment Rights,
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