Uber And Deliveroo Will Be Monitoring Outcome Closely

The Court of Appeal will hand down its judgment on Friday 10 February in a high profile employment dispute which could have major repercussions on the so-called ‘gig economy’ and businesses such as Uber and Deliveroo.

The case of Pimlico Plumbers Ltd v Smith was heard in the Court of Appeal earlier this year and a decision is expected tomorrow.

The dispute focuses on whether individuals who are expressly engaged as self-employed contractors are, in fact, workers.  Pimlico entered into contractual arrangements with its plumbers to provide services to its clients and the plumbers were required to use their own tools, take responsibility for their work and provide indemnity insurance. 

The plumbers though gave the appearance of working for Pimlico as they wore a uniform, drove vans which displayed the Pimlico brand and customers paid Pimlico for the work undertaken.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal initially found that the plumbers were workers – but not employees. The matter was then referred to the Court of Appeal for a hearing on 17 January 2017.

The outcome of the case is significant because if the plumbers are confirmed as workers, they will be entitled to basic workers’ rights such as the national minimum wage and paid holiday. They will also be able to bring discrimination claims.

It could also be significant for the so called ‘gig economy’ where in the last few years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of individuals working under self-employed contracts.  Here, individuals are paid for the tasks they complete and on rates fixed by their employer.  These individuals have no employment rights and often receive less than the national minimum wage. 

Expert Opinion

“We are seeing increasing numbers of individuals who are challenging their status and claiming to be workers or employees. Uber drivers recently persuaded a tribunal that they were workers and although Uber is now appealing this, tribunals are clearly taking a pragmatic and bold approach to determining status cases, despite contractual arrangements which are designed to give the appearance that individuals are genuinely self-employed.

“The outcome of this case will be very significant and if the decision is that the plumbers are self-employed, Uber and firms operating similar models will no doubt take some heart for their appeals.”
Glenn Hayes - Partner & National Head of Employment Law