Employment Status

Pimlico Plumbers & Charlie Mullins v Gary Smith

In this latest case involving the employment status of workers, the Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Pimlico Plumbers from an Employment Appeal Tribunal’s decision. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision that the plumbers employed by Pimlico plumbers are workers, not self-employed contractors. As the Master of the Rolls says, "This case puts a spotlight on a business model under which operatives are intended to appear to clients of the business as working for the business, but at the same time the business itself seeks to maintain that... there is a legal relationship of... independent contractor rather than employer and employee or worker."

Lord Justice Underhill commented that he had not found the case to be entirely straightforward. It is nevertheless likely to be a leading case on employment status in future years.

In Practice

This case follows on from the recent Uber and Deliveroo cases and is another example of the ‘gig economy’ being found out in terms of the status of their workers. These companies all tried to argue that the workers were self-employed, but subjected them to considerable control. A clarification of the law is long overdue and the government is currently consulting on what can be done to make it clearer to both employers and the people who work for them as to the employment relationship.

At Frettens, all of our solicitors offer a free initial meeting or chat on the phone to answer your questions. If this article raises issues for you or your business, please call us on 01202 499255 and Paul, Kate or Andrew will be happy to discuss it with you.