The UK supreme court has unanimously decided in favour of a heating engineer for the company Pimlico Plumbers, who argued that he was a worker and not self-employed. The ruling will establish a clear precedent for other disputes involving the gig economy, and could influence the outcome of ongoing disputes over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Addison Lee. The firm disputed Smith’s assertion that he was sacked because he wanted to work fewer days. In its judgement, delivered on Monday, the high court said it had been “struck by the fact that, despite being self-employed contractors, both Mr Justice Mann and Ms Justice Edwards were employed as employees at Pimlico Plum@@ Pimlico Plumbers rejected Smith’s request to work a three-day week and dismissed him.
The UK supreme court has unanimously decided in favour of a heating engineer for the company Pimlico Plumbers, who argued that he was a worker and not self-employed. The ruling will establish a clear precedent for other disputes involving the gig economy, and could influence the outcome of ongoing disputes over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Addison Lee. In its judgement, delivered on Monday, the high court said it had been “struck by the fact that, despite being self-employed contractors, both Mr Justice Mann and Ms Justice Edwards were employed as employees at Pimlico Plum@@ Pimlico Plumbers rejected Smith’s request to work a three-day week and dismissed him.