Amazon drivers look to sue for compensation over rights – BBC News
‘A law firm is seeking to launch a group action against Amazon over employee rights for delivery drivers.’
BBC News, 13th October 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: holiday pay
Employment status following the Uber Supreme Court case – Mills & Reeve
Establishing an individual’s employment rights can feel like a minefield, with varying degrees of obligations on the employer depending on the employment status. Earlier this year the Supreme Court upheld earlier decisions in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal that Uber drivers are “workers” of Uber for the purposes of employment rights, and not, as Uber argued, self-employed contractors each operating their own minicab business.
Mills & Reeve, 14th June 2021
Source: www.mills-reeve.com
Can an individual be a ‘worker’ if they are not obliged to accept any work at all? – 3PB
‘The Nursing and Midwifery Council (‘NMC’) is the regulator of Nurses and Midwives in the UK. Pursuant to the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001, the NMC has a Fitness to Practise Committee (‘FTP’), which determines allegations of impairment of fitness to practise. The Claimant was appointed as a panel member and chair of the FTP for a four-year term on 16 April 2012. He was appointed for a further four-year term in April 2016.’
3PB, 10th June 2021
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
Uber recognises union for first time in landmark deal – BBC News
‘Ride-hailing giant Uber has agreed to recognise a trade union for the first time, in a landmark deal that should benefit gig economy workers.’
BBC News, 26th May 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Ep 139: Courts tussle with Uber, Ola and the Gig Economy – Law Pod UK
‘Alasdair Henderson of 1 Crown Office Row joins Rosalind English to discuss the recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court that drivers whose work is arranged through Uber’s smartphone app work for Uber under workers’ contracts and so qualify for the protections afforded by employment law, such as minimum wage and paid holiday leave.’
Law Pod UK, 7th April 2021
Source: audioboom.com
Tribunal: Law firm’s part-time FD was worker, not self-employed – Legal Futures
‘An accountant who acted as a law firm’s part-time finance director through a company was a worker and not self-employed, even though he had another client, an employment tribunal has ruled.’
Legal Futures, 29th March 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A lot are sceptical’: Uber drivers’ cautious welcome over worker status – The Guardian
‘On Wednesday Uber, the taxi hailing app, began offering 70,000 UK drivers a minimum hourly wage, holiday pay and pensions after years of legal battles.’
The Guardian, 18th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Courts close in on gig economy firms globally as workers seek rights – The Guardian
‘Gig economy companies, including Uber and Deliveroo, have faced at least 40 major legal challenges around the world as delivery drivers and riders try to improve their rights.’
The Guardian, 17th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
For Whom the Bell Tolls: “Contract” in the Gig Economy – Oxford Human Rights Hub
‘Are Uber drivers ‘limb (b) workers’ and so entitled to fundamental statutory rights such as the minimum wage and working time protections? In a decision of fundamental significance, six Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court (UKSC) upheld the original Employment Tribunal (ET) decision that the drivers were ‘limb (b) workers. In reaching this conclusion, the UKSC endorsed the ‘purposive’ approach that had been set down in the earlier case of Autoclenz v Belcher by Lord Clarke.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 7th March 2021
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
Regulation is not an À la Carte menu: insights from the Uber judgment – by Valerio De Stefano – UK Labour Law
‘If we had to pick one among the many enlightening statements from the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in Uber, it would be this. It perfectly captures both the gist of the case at hand and the substance of the whole global debate on platform work. From the outset, the narrative driven by platforms was based on the notion that they were something entirely new in our societies. They were introducing entirely novel work models, made possible by technology, which could not be subject to the same regulation that traditional businesses had to observe. Their business model was not compatible with existing labour protection systems, and they would be instead the best positioned to determine which kind of protection they could grant to workers (only – they would not call them “workers”, but “drivers”, “partners”, “taskers”, “riders”, etc.).’
UK Labour Law, 2nd March 2021
Source: uklabourlawblog.com
Chelsea Brooke-Ward discusses: Uber BV and others v Aslam and Others – Park Square Barristers
‘In a landmark decision the Supreme Court has ruled that The Central London Employment Tribunal, and the Court of Appeal were correct to find that the Claimant Uber drivers were “workers”, rather than independent contractors. ‘Whether a contract is a ‘worker’s contract’ is a matter of statutory interpretation, not contractual interpretation. That involves taking a purposive approach which, in the employment context, is to protect those who are vulnerable as a result of their subordination to, and dependence upon, another person in relation to their work. In the case of Uber, the employment tribunal’s findings on the relative degree of control exercised by Uber and drivers respectively over the service provided to passengers justified its conclusion that the drivers were workers,’ according to the Supreme Court.’
Park Square Barristers, 24th February 2021
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
Uber BV v Aslam and Others – Old Square Chambers
‘In a landmark judgment which will have wide-ranging implications for workers and employers in the gig economy, the Supreme Court has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that Uber drivers were workers and therefore entitled to the minimum wage, statutory annual leave and protection from detriment under the Employment Rights Act 1996.’
Old Square Chambers, 19th February 2021
Source: oldsquare.co.uk
Uber accused of trying to deter drivers from seeking compensation – The Guardian
‘Uber has been accused of trying to deter drivers from seeking compensation for missed holiday and minimum wage payments after a landmark court ruling.’
The Guardian, 22nd February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Uber drivers “set for £12k awards” after Supreme Court ruling – Litigation Futures
‘Tens of thousands of Uber drivers could be entitled to £12,000 in compensation, lawyers said today after the Supreme Court ruled they should be classed as workers.’
Litigation futures, 19th February 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: more holiday cancellations? – Littleton Chambers
‘David Reade QC and Daniel Northall provide their fourth update on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and examine the relationship between furlough and annual leave.’
Littleton Chambers, 5th June 2020
Source: littletonchambers.com
COVID-19 and employment law in the UK – OUP Blog
‘The last couple of weeks have seen a raft of new legislation in the United Kingdom, hurriedly passed to deal urgently with the coronavirus situation. It has clearly been drafted quickly, with guidance that goes well beyond the legislation, and so this has led to some confusion as to what exactly the law now says.’
OUP Blog, 21st April 2020
Source: blog.oup.com
Coronavirus job retention scheme: what employers should do – OUT-LAW.com
‘The UK Treasury has now published the formal rules of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the form of a Treasury direction, as well as announcing that the scheme will run until at least 30 June 2020.’
OUT-LAW.com, 17th April 2020
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
The Interplay of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme & Holiday by Adam Willoughby – Broadway House Chambers
‘With the prospect of several bank holidays on the horizon with little indication as to how long circumstances may require continued periods of furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (‘the Scheme’), many employers will be worried as to how they deal with the interaction between furlough and annual leave. Specifically, whether they can require annual leave to be taken during furlough and how they deal with bank holidays where they are included within employee’s annual leave entitlement under their contracts of employment.’
Broadway House Chambers, 9th April 2020
Source: broadwayhouse.co.uk
