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UNITE the union celebrated today a potentially groundbreaking legal victory against bogus self-employment at the employment appeal tribunal (EAT).
The union brought pipe-fitter Russ Blakely’s case against employment agency On-Site Recruitment Solutions Limited and payroll company Heritage Solutions City Ltd for the unlawful deduction of wages and national insurance contributions and unpaid holiday pay.
The Reading employment tribunal initially ruled against Mr Blakely, finding he was not a worker, but the EAT – whose decision is binding on all employment tribunals – overturned that decision on appeal.
Employment lawyer ALICE BOWMAN warns ‘day one rights’ include an undefined ‘initial period’ and the zero-hours contract fixes create baffling fixed-term loopholes. If the Bill doesn’t work properly and deliver, Labour is doomed
It is only trade union power at work that will materially improve the lot of working people as a class but without sector-wide collective bargaining and a right to take sympathetic strike action, we are hamstrung in the fight to tilt back the balance of power, argues ADRIAN WEIR
