[IER] Court of Appeal refuses 'gig' company permission to challenge 'worker' ruling

[Sarah Glenister]

IER News Brief 05/04/19Follow us on Twitter  
news brief
Friday 05th April 2019
The Court of Appeal has, for the first time, refused the employer permission to challenge the decision of an Employment Tribunal that their so-called 'contractors' were in fact 'workers' and therefore eligible for employment rights.

In 2017, the Central London Employment Tribunal ruled that Chris Gascoigne, a cycle courier at Addison Lee, was a 'worker' rather than a self-employed 'independent contractor' as classified by his employer.

This would mean he had the right to the National Minimum Wage, rest breaks and holiday pay.

Addison Lee initially applied to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which upheld the categorisation of 'worker'. The Court of Appeal has now rejected the employer's application to appeal once more on the basis that its case is unarguable.
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 Labour Law Highlights 2019Labour Law Highlights 2019 - from £8 
Edited by Stuart Brittenden and Betsan Criddle 
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In a year that Parliament has been tied up in its efforts to strike a deal on leaving the EU, developments in labour law have fallen largely to the Courts in 2018/19, where rulings have gone some way to clarify existing legislation and to shape an understanding of complex areas of employment law like employment status.

In this popular annual update to case law, the IER’s regular team of barristers at Old Square Chambers guides readers through key decisions in the last year that may prove instructive to trade unions and potential claimants as to the likely approach of Judges to forthcoming cases.

The authors cover a wide range of issues including trade union rights, pay and terms of employment, whistleblowing, TUPE, unfair dismissal, discrimination and the application of equality law. 
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 The Welfare State, Work & Wages: Disintegration or renewal?The Welfare State, Work & Wages: Disintegration or renewal? - £10 
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Up until now, criticism of Universal Credit has largely focused on how long delays and sanctions are forcing recipients into poverty and debt. Less attention has been given to how the Welfare State interacts with the labour market to influence employment patterns. In this book, Keith Puttick examines the work-welfare interface through time, highlighting how changes in attitude and policy around the benefits system has had a deleterious effect on labour standards in the workplace.

While increased pressure on jobseekers to find work – regardless of quality – incentivises the creation of low-hours, low-pay mini-jobs; the proliferation of work that cannot meet the needs of workers generates further reliance on the Welfare State, thus creating a vicious cycle that prevents low-paid workers from progressing.

The author concludes that in order to create an effective Welfare State, we must first overcome the shortcomings of the current system of labour rights. Drawing upon the IER’s influential Manifesto for Labour Law, he recommends the rollout of sectoral collective bargaining and stronger equality laws to encourage the creation of higher-paid, higher-quality work and improve its accessibility to all, thereby providing opportunities for those currently stuck in the benefits trap to become financially secure. 
> click here to read more and purchase your copy    Events London: Case law development - labour law review 
Wednesday 24 April 2019 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London 
At this interactive, hands-on conference, trade union representatives and others interested in defending workers’ rights will learn how recent changes in the law are being interpreted in the courts, as well as given the opportunity to apply what they learn to issues in their own workplace.
Speakers include Betsan Criddle and Bruno Gill 
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The IER’s 2016 Manifesto for Labour Law garnered support from major unions across the UK, the Green Party, the Scottish Nationalist Party, and most of all the Labour Party, which adopted many of the IER’s recommendations as a blueprint for future reform. Now we present Rolling Out, a guide to how our recommendations could be practically implemented. 
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Notes from a seminar by the Institute of Employment Rights and the Marx Memorial Library 
On 01 July 2017, labour movement leaders from across Europe met at the Marx Memorial Library, London, to discuss how a progressive future for workers’ rights can be sought following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. This report documents the meeting, including the transcripts of each presentation, as well as notes on the discussion between panel and delegates on the day. 
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By Miguel Martinez Lucio, Aristea Koukiadaki and Isabel Tavora 
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this analysis – the 11th in our Comparative Notes series – shines a light on the deleterious effect of the nation's deregulatory influence on the bloc. 
> click here to read more and purchase 8 Good Reasons Why Adult Social Care Needs Sectoral Collective Bargaining: £8 
By Dr Lydia Hayes 
In this booklet, Dr Lydia Hayes sets out the lessons learned from her interdisciplinary research into the social care sector, and builds upon the recommendations made in the Institute of Employment Rights' Manifesto for Labour Law: a comprehensive revision of worker’s rights to propose a sectoral collective bargaining structure for the negotiation of wages and conditions. 
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