A courier has won her tribunal against City Sprint, which will likely have huge repercussions on the industry. The tribunal agreed that the courier should have worker status.
A self-employed person does not have rights to sick pay, paid holidays and receive the national living wage. But with worker status, they could expect the same ‘workers’ rights as others within the company.
Background
For the past two years, Ms Dewhurst worked for City Sprint as a “self-employed” courier. However, she argued that while on the job, she was very much under the control of the company. The tribunal heard that her employer would constantly tell her what to do, and how and when to do it. She said that she couldn’t benefit from the freedom of self-employment and therefore should have the right to benefits given to other ‘traditional’ workers at the company.
Appeal
This tribunal comes after taxi company Uber, found themselves in a similar dispute that saw its workers claim worker status. They also won their tribunal, and Uber, like City Sprint, plan to appeal the judgement.
More tribunals likely
While the results from this tribunal only apply to Ms Dewhurst, it seems likely that more people will choose to challenge their status as a way to claim the rights that they feel they deserve. With an increasing number of people winning similar tribunals, it’s likely that companies hiring self-employed people may be forced to reconsider their employment strategy.
