A UK plumbing and heating engineer who won a landmark legal battle against Pimlico Plumbers over his working rights, has lost his bid to claim £74,000 in holiday pay.

An Employment Tribunal in Croydon ruled yesterday that the plumbing and heating engineer, Gary Smith, who worked at Pimlico from 2005 to 2011, had not filed his holiday pay claim quickly enough.

According to The Guardian, Smith’s lawyer, Jacqueline McGuigan of TMP Solicitors, said that the tribunal’s ruling was made under regulations that stipulated Smith should have made his claim for missed pay within three months of each holiday period dating back to 2005.

“That’s under working time regulations that were drafted for people who know they have got those rights. When you are a gig worker who believes you are self-employed but are mistaken, there is a problem,” McGuigan said.

The failure of the holiday pay claim is seen as a blow for gig economy workers after a lengthy case that began in 2017.

In 2017, Smith successfully sued Pimlico after the company refused to reduce his working days following a heart attack and took away his van. Smith then argued that he was entitled to basic workers' rights - which would include the national minimum wage and paid holiday and the ability to bring discrimination claims.  The Supreme Court then granted Pimlico the right to appeal the case and in a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that Smith was a worker and not self-employed.

Charlie Mullins, the chief executive of Pimlico Plumbers, commented, “While the Supreme Court deemed him to be a ‘worker’ and entitled to associated rights, the tables have been turned and common sense prevailed in the actual employment tribunal and Smith has been told that he wasn’t entitled to a penny.”

“This decision is a vindication of everything that Pimlico Plumbers stands for. It also sends a message to those who have taken advantage of this case to peddle their poisonous bile about my company, and that they are in truth just a bunch of small-minded haters,” Mullins said.

McGuigan said that Smith will appeal the decision.