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UK – MP calls on government to take action on “rampant injustice” in the gig economy (The Guardian)

25 March 2019

Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee MP Frank Field has called on the government to take action to end the “rampant injustice” facing some workers in the gig economy, reports The Guardian. Field today proposed a reform programme, relating to employment law and its enforcement. In the report, he called for a fast-track system for employment tribunals involving worker status cases, as well as the introduction of a single labour market regulator. The report states that there is evidence some companies continue to exploit workers whom they had wrongly classified as independent contractors. The report comes after a UK plumbing and heating engineer lost his bid last week to claim £74,000 in holiday pay. The plumbing engineer had won a landmark legal battle against Pimlico Plumbers over his working rights but an Employment Tribunal ruled that had not filed his holiday pay claim quickly enough. The government is expected to publish proposals on a single labour market enforcement body, that would bring together work currently carried out by HMRC, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, and other bodies.