Repeal Bill offers chance for overhaul

A REVIEW of the so-called gig economy has called for better jobs to be created – but is it that simple?

The independent review by Matthew Taylor considered the implications of new terms of work driven by digital platforms, employee rights and responsibilities, employer freedoms and obligations.

It concluded there should be two-way flexibility for people who are part of the gig economy.

Workers should also be given more rights because there is a presumption that where a person is controlled they are not self-employed, so it is not unreasonable for them to expect employee protection.

This means people who do casual work through a smart phone app, cannot argue they are employed as they will fail the ‘controlled and supervised’ test, hence need for a special provision.

Taylor said specific provision had to be made in circumstances where a company has no control as to where people offer themselves up for work.

He said there should be a 20 per cent premium in earnings to even out the rates between these workers and conventional employees.

By doing this there will be more transparency, so people will know at any point in time what the average earnings are.

It means such employers may open themselves up to having to pay employees national insurance. But can this be implemented? Only time will tell. It is inevitable that people will always drift to those jobs that have more benefits and pay.

In the same way other firms may choose to employ people through zero hour contracts as their way through.

We are in a state of full employment which has in part been created through the rise in the gig economy.

Given that there is a desire for workers to have more stable work, the new Brexit Repeal Bill may be a good time to overhaul the employment laws to deal with the ever-changing world we live in. Colin Rodrigues is head of the corporate team at

Hawkins Hatton