The UK supreme court has unanimously decided in favour of a heating engineer for the company London Plumbers , who argued that he was a worker and not self - employed . The ruling will set a clear precedent for other disputes involving the gig economy , and could influence the outcome of ongoing litigation over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Addison Lee . Jason Moyer-Lee, general secretary of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), said: “The problem of employment rights in the so-called gig-economy is not confusion in the law The case was brought by Gary Smith who worked for the company for six years until suffering a heart attack in 2011 . Pimlico Plumbers rejected Smith ’s request to work a three - hour shift and dismissed him .
The UK supreme court has unanimously decided in favour of a heating engineer for the company London Plumbers , who argued that he was a worker and not self - employed . The ruling will set a clear precedent for other disputes involving the gig economy , and could influence the outcome of ongoing litigation over the employment status of drivers for Uber and Addison Lee . The case was brought by Gary Smith who worked for the company for six years until suffering a heart attack in 2011 . Pimlico Plumbers rejected Smith ’s request to work a three - hour shift and dismissed him .