Employment Lawyer Highlights Importance Of The Case

The high profile legal case involving Pimlico Plumbers will be heard at the Supreme Court on 20 February 2018.

The ruling from the UK’s highest court will not be handed down until later in the year and according to lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, the decision will have major repercussions for the gig economy and businesses such as Uber and Deliveroo.

The dispute involving Pimlico Plumbers Ltd v Smith focuses on whether individuals who are expressly engaged as self-employed contractors are, in fact, workers or even employees.

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 (a status not recognised by HMRC who only have two classifications 'employee or self-employed') – but not employees.

The matter was then referred to the Court of Appeal for a hearing in January last year. The plumbing company took he case to the Court of appeal and lost the case.

If you are a business facing similar circumstances, get in touch with our Business Employment solicitors for advice on HR best practice and employment law. Visit our Employment Law page for more information around tribunals.