The much-anticipated Taylor Review (or to give it its formal title, “Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices”) was published on 11 July 2017
A full copy of the Review can be accessed via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627671/good-work-taylor-review-modern-working-practices-rg.pdf
The Review has come, at least in part, in response to the recent plethora of cases before the Employment Tribunal and EAT regarding elements of the so-called “gig economy” and the employment status of those engaged by companies such as Uber and Deliveroo. The Review makes a number of recommendations in respect of the law relating to employment status; in particular that the existing categories of “employee” and “worker” should be easier to distinguish from one another. Given the notorious complexity of the law in this area, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Review apparently shies away from making any concrete suggestions as to how this can be achieved, preferring instead to recommend that the legislation start referring to “workers” as “dependent contractors”. It goes on to make three specific recommendations it believes the Government ought to implement over the coming year, as follows:
• Develop legislation and guidance that adequately sets out the tests that need to be met to establish employee
or “dependent contractor” status.
• To reflect the realities of platform work, ensure that in developing legislation, legitimate business models that
allow maximum flexibility to their “dependent contractors” are not prevented from operating by updating NMW
legislation.
• Provide maximum clarity on status and rights for all individuals by extending the right to written particulars to
all in employment and developing an online tool providing a clear steer on what rights an individual has.
In spite of the recommendations of the Review, the question of employment status is likely to remain a complex and contentious issue and expert legal advice ought to be sought at the earliest opportunity.