The Court of Appeal considers the case of Pimlico Plumbers
13 February 2017Worker status is one of the most important issues facing the so-called "gig" economy in the wake of the recent Tribunal decisions in Uber and Citysprint, where drivers and couriers respectively were held to have "worker" rather than "self-employed" status.
On Friday, the Court of Appeal considered the case of Pimlico Plumbers Limited & Mullins v Smith [2017] EWCA Civ 51, upholding the decision of the Employment Tribunal that Mr Smith was a "worker" rather than being self-employed. Although much of the judgment depends on the particular contractual framework that was put in place, this is an important decision for all businesses that use "freelance" or "self-employed" contractors.