• Contact Us

Employment Tribunals Revisit the Gig Economy as a CitySprint Courier Follows Uber Drivers in Establishing Worker Status

on Monday, 16 January 2017.

The London Central Employment Tribunal has also held that a cycle courier engaged by CitySprint UK Limited was a worker, despite the existence of a contract describing her as a self-employed contractor.

Following the much-publicised Employment Tribunal decision last October that Uber drivers were not self-employed contractors but had 'worker' status and the threat of similar legal action by the union representing Deliveroo's drivers, the London Central Employment Tribunal has also held that a cycle courier engaged by CitySprint UK Limited was a worker, despite the existence of a contract describing her as a self-employed contractor.

The Facts

The claimant, Maggie Dewhurst, works as a cycle courier for CitySprint, typically working four days per week from 9:30 to 6:30. She logs on to the company's electronic tracking system at the start of a working day and remains logged in until that day ends. That system tracks her movements and helps a controller, who is in radio and phone contact with her through the day, to assign jobs to her.

CitySprint's recruitment process and documents are similar to those used (and heavily criticised) in the Uber case in that there was detailed documentation (described in CitySprint's case as a 'tender document') stating that there was no obligation on the company to offer the individual any work and that they were engaged as an independent contractor.

The Tribunal's Decision

As with the Uber case, the tribunal has found that CitySprint's contractual documents did not accurately reflect reality. It found that the very title of CitySprint's contract raised the suspicion that it may have been generated by the “armies of lawyers” mentioned by Mr Justice Elias in an earlier case involving similar issues, and therefore was not an accurate reflection of the working relationship.

Instead, Ms Dewhurst was held to be integrated into CitySprint's business, expected to work when she said she would, subject to Citysprint's directions and paid based on its calculations.

Ms Dewhurst was supported in her claim by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the same union seeking recognition for collective bargaining on behalf of Deliveroo drivers. The IWGB has told the Guardian that it has submitted similar claims against Addison Lee, Excel and eCourier.

The general trend in employment tribunal decisions against inaccurate labels of self-employment in the gig economy therefore may be likely to continue, with trade unions continuing to target employers they perceive as unfairly treating gig economy workers.

Best Practice

Businesses that engage self-employed contractors should bear in mind the need to be able to demonstrate that the day-to-day reality of the working relationship matches that described in the contract.

However, it is also worth bearing in mind that, in both the Uber and CitySprint cases, it was the particular contracts and working arrangements that the respective tribunals criticized and that the tribunal in the Uber case specifically mentioned that it did not rule out the possibility that Uber could have devised a business model not involving it employing drivers.

For further information please contact Bob Fahy in our Employment Law team on 01923 919 302.