In his latest Coffee Break Briefing webinar, Frettens’ own Insolvency Guru Malcolm Niekirk looked at dealing with solvent liquidations with no tax clearance.
This is the summary of that briefing.
DX, a delivery company which is widely used in the legal sector, is the latest business to face threats of action over the treatment of workers as self-employed people. The company, which was formed in 1975, was one of the first businesses to challenge Royal Mail's monopoly following a national postal workers' strike.
The GMB Union said earlier this month that legal action will be taken to secure rights on pay, holidays, health and safety, discipline and grievances on behalf of members who work as couriers and drivers for DX.
According to the union, DX classified its couriers as self-employed. This denies them employment rights such as the minimum wage, holiday or sick pay.
In October last year, drivers for Uber brought an employment tribunal claim against the company, stating that they were workers and that Uber was wrong to label them ‘self-employed’. Uber have since appealed the decision and this is due to be heard later this year.
The DX case is one of many which we are now seeing being brought before the employment tribunal, following the landmark decision in the Uber case.
Head f the Employment Team, Paul Burton, comments “The law surrounding employment status is a hot topic at the moment, with the hope being that following these spate of cases, the law will be clarified, if not reformed, to provide more certainty to both individuals and employers.”
Our Employment Team, based in Christchurch, also cover Bournemouth, Poole and the New Forest. If you have any questions, you only have to ask us at Frettens. Please call 01202 499255 and Paul or his team, will be happy to chat about your situation and you particular requirements.
