[IER] "Gig" employer says it is up to workers' to individually enforce their rights

Fri Oct 13 17:55:01 BST 2017

IER News Brief 13/10/17

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news brief

Friday 13th October 2017

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Parcel company Hermes has told a Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=e7e63ff235&e=71131c031b>  hearing that if a court ruled its couriers were "workers" rather than "self employed", it would wait and see if other workers brought individual cases rather than change its working practices across the board.

Representing the company, its Legal Affairs Director Hugo Martin explained Hermes would not expect many couriers to bring claims against the company even if colleagues on the same contract were afforded more rights as a result of legal action. He pointed to the case of CitySprint, another courier firm that lost a similar legal challenge, and which has not seen many other couriers take their own cases to court as a result. 

He claimed this was because couriers do not want to be "workers", but this is far from the only explanation. Many individuals are unaware of the rights they may be entitled to, or are not inclined to take legal action. Furthermore, one's employment status is defined by law, not personal preference, so a courier cannot simply decide they are not a "worker" if the reality of their relationship with a company suggests otherwise.

The Institute of Employment Rights argues that the reliance on individually enforced workers' rights in the UK provides companies with a loophole that can be exploited to evade compliance to labour law. This, we propose, can have a detrimental impact on the strength of workers' rights across the board, as without proper enforcement, the law cannot maintain any authority.

We recommend that an independent Labour Inspectorate is formed with the power to enter workplaces in order to identify breaches to the law and collective agreements, sanction employers where appropriate, and bring legal proceedings on behalf of workers. This would remove the onus from workers to police their own rights and help ensure labour standards are adhered to across the board, preserving the effectiveness of the law. 

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In a hearing by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee as part of the Taylor Review of modern working practices, Hermes has said it would leave enforcement of employment law up to workers if it were to lose a cast at tribunal.
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=dc6758ff42&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

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