Royal Mail sued by delivery drivers in ‘Uber-style’ gig economy legal case – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2024 in minimum wage, news, postal service, self-employment, sick leave by tracey

‘Royal Mail is being sued for classifying delivery drivers as self-employed, enabling it to avoid paying sick pay and the minimum wage, in a case that mirrors a landmark gig economy legal ruling against Uber.’

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The Guardian, 25th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Royal Parks workers bring landmark case over race and equal pay – The Guardian

Posted February 20th, 2024 in contracting out, London, minimum wage, news, parks, race discrimination, remuneration by tracey

‘A group of toilet cleaners and attendants for London’s most famous parks could be about to make legal history in the court of appeal by arguing that their outsourced contracts amounted to indirect race discrimination.’

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The Guardian, 20th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Fitter working for Sharps takes legal action over employment rights – The Guardian

Posted January 2nd, 2024 in holiday pay, minimum wage, news, penalties, remuneration, self-employment, sick leave by tracey

‘A fitter working for the furniture chain Sharps Bedrooms is taking legal action for better employment rights in a case that could open the door to improving conditions and pay for thousands of gig economy workers fitting kitchens, bathrooms and cupboards for big chains.’

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The Guardian, 2nd January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legislation aimed at boosting seafarers’ pay gets royal assent – The Independent

Posted March 24th, 2023 in bills, employment, minimum wage, news, remuneration, shipping law by tracey

‘Legislation aimed at boosting seafarers’ pay has passed its final hurdle but may not immediately improve earnings.’

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The Independent, 23rd March 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

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.’

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BBC News, 13th October 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pret, McColls and Welcome Break in minimum wage fail – BBC News

Posted August 5th, 2021 in fines, minimum wage, news by sally

‘Pret, McColls and Welcome Break are among almost 200 firms “named and shamed” by the government for not paying workers the minimum wage.’

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BBC News, 5th August 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

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.

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Mills & Reeve, 14th June 2021

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Tomlinson-Blake in the Supreme Court – by Kate Ewing – UK Labour Law

Posted April 29th, 2021 in care workers, minimum wage, news, remuneration, Supreme Court, working time by sally

‘The Supreme Court decision in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad & Another (T/A Clifton House Residential Home) [2021] UKSC 8 (“Mencap”) can only be described as a bitter blow to low paid, hard-working care workers who have been at the forefront of the most essential work during the ongoing global pandemic. In emotional terms it is hard to comprehend how such workers can feel anything other than betrayed and devalued as a result. The decision is, in the context of the great efforts by these workers, quite simply crushing. In legal terms, the decision also generates real concerns about the fragmentation of a basic minimum labour standard – the wage floor. One difficulty is the legal framework that workers have to rely on in relation to minimum wage protection in the UK. Further concerns also relate to the approach taken by the Supreme Court to the concept of time to be considered working (“work time”) in relation to the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”).’

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UK Labour Law, 28th April 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Ep 139: Courts tussle with Uber, Ola and the Gig Economy – Law Pod UK

Posted April 8th, 2021 in holiday pay, minimum wage, news, podcasts, self-employment, taxis by sally

‘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.’

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Law Pod UK, 7th April 2021

Source: audioboom.com

Supreme Court: Carers not entitled to minimum wage when asleep – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Care workers who “sleep-in” are not entitled to the national minimum wage when they are in bed, the Supreme Court has ruled.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th March 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.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.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

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.).’

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UK Labour Law, 2nd March 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

A crucial and long-needed step against the devaluation of domestic work: ‘family worker’ exemption dis-applied in Puthenveettil v Alexander & ors – by Natalie Sedacca – UK Labour Law

‘On 15 December 2020, the London South Employment Tribunal gave its judgment in a claim brought by a domestic worker, Ms Kamalammal P K Puthenveettil, challenging her exemption from payment of the national minimum wage on the basis of the “family worker” exemption. The Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) accepted the Claimant’s argument that this exemption, stemming from the “family worker” exemption, was unlawful and indirectly discriminatory on the basis of sex. This exemption has meant that some live-in domestic workers – part of an overwhelmingly female and largely ethnic minority and / or migrant workforce – have been at worst denied payment of the national minimum wage (‘NMW’), and in other cases lacked clarity about their entitlement to this very basic right. After outlining the background to Puthenveettil, this post will explain the family worker exemption and its (mis-)application to some live-in domestic workers. It will then analyse the judgment in Puthenveettil, its significance in questioning the devaluation of domestic work, and the limitations of the legal framework for domestic workers in the UK.’

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UK Labour Law, 1st March 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Chelsea Brooke-Ward discusses: Uber BV and others v Aslam and Others – Park Square Barristers

Posted February 25th, 2021 in compensation, holiday pay, minimum wage, news, self-employment, Supreme Court, taxis by sally

‘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.’

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Park Square Barristers, 24th February 2021

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Uber BV v Aslam and Others – Old Square Chambers

Posted February 25th, 2021 in compensation, holiday pay, minimum wage, news, self-employment, Supreme Court, taxis by sally

‘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.’

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Old Square Chambers, 19th February 2021

Source: oldsquare.co.uk

Uber accused of trying to deter drivers from seeking compensation – The Guardian

Posted February 23rd, 2021 in compensation, holiday pay, minimum wage, news, self-employment, Supreme Court, taxis by tracey

‘Uber has been accused of trying to deter drivers from seeking compensation for missed holiday and minimum wage payments after a landmark court ruling.’

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The Guardian, 22nd February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Work Rights in the Nursery: Au pairs entitled to the NMW (but in respect of which hours?) – Littleton Chambers

Posted January 12th, 2021 in EC law, employment tribunals, equal pay, minimum wage, news, women, working time by sally

‘The employment tribunal has disapplied the “family worker” exemption, in effect holding that au pairs and other domestic workers who live in the home are entitled to the protections of the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) regime. If this tribunal decision stands, it gives rise to another significant question: which hours should count towards the NMW for domestic workers?’

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Littleton Chambers, 4th January 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

Tribunal awards 10 UK homecare workers £10,000 each in back pay – The Guardian

‘Ruling says travel and waiting time between cases should be treated as working time.’

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The Guardian, 15th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Now That We Care About Carers: Temporal Casualisation in Mencap and Uber – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted April 28th, 2020 in carers, coronavirus, minimum wage, news, Supreme Court, taxis by sally

‘A few weeks before the lockdown, one of the most important UK labour law cases of the last decade was heard by the Supreme Court. Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson Blake has not attracted the attention paid to the Uber litigation, also to reach the Supreme Court later this year. Yet Mencap will have significant ramifications for a segment of the British workforce at the front line of the coronavirus response, namely care workers.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 27th April 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Bath Hill Court v Coletta [2019] EWCA CIV 1707 – Old Square Chambers

‘In an important decision, the Court of Appeal in Bath Hill Court v Coletta has held that, in an unauthorised deduction of wages claim for non payment of the national minimum wage in the ET, there is no backstop on the recovery of deductions, enabling Mr Coletta to claim 15 years’ worth of losses.’

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Old Square Chambers, 17th October 2019

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk