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Centre for Law at Work hosts Gig Economy Workshop

Press release issued: 24 April 2019

On 5 April 2019, the University of Bristol Centre for Law at Work hosted an exploratory workshop 'Employment Status in the Gig Economy: Courts and Legislation' examining issues surrounding the gig economy and its impact on the regulation of working life. In this event report, Centre co-directors Professors Alan Bogg and Tonia Novitz share the workshop’s themes and outcomes, including future research collaboration with leading commentators, activists and practitioners in this rapidly changing field of study.

By Professor Alan Bogg and Professor Tonia Novitz, co-directors of the Centre for Law at Work

The so-called ‘gig economy’, where labour is hired through platforms and delivered with the assistance of ‘apps’, has the potential to transform working life and its regulation. We are entering perhaps one of the most important phases of judicial decision-making on employment status in a generation in the forthcoming Deliveroo and Uber appeals. We are also seeing the first legislative changes from the Taylor Review consultations issued in 2018, with more to follow.

The workshop hosted by the University of Bristol Centre for Law at Work examined these issues, following on from recent research on the Taylor Review by members of the Centre. We were fortunate to attract leading commentators, activists and practitioners in the field, including distinguished European scholars.

Four panels explored the following themes:

  • Grassroots organising in the gig economy: protest and resistance
  • A new statutory definition for the worker category: where next after Taylor?
  • Tax, social insurance, and employment status and
  • Case law on employment status: recent developments in Deliveroo and Uber

We were particularly fortunate to welcome Jason Moyer-Lee of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), whose litigation and collective action in the ‘gig economy’ has sparked lively legal and public debate, alongside John Hendy QC who has been acting in key cases such as Deliveroo. Other distinguished speakers included: Abi Adams (Oxford), Eusebi Colas (University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), Simon Deakin (Cambridge), Manoj Dias-Abey (Bristol), Michael Ford QC (Bristol and Old Square Chambers), Mark Freedland (Oxford), Judith Freedman (Oxford), Julia Lopez Lopez (University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), and Vincenzo Pietrogiovanni (Lund).

The panels were followed by observations from members of the Centre for Law at Work advisory board, Anne Davies (Oxford), Keith Ewing (KCL), and Hannah Reed (RCN, attending and commenting in her personal capacity). We now have further plans for research collaborations following on from this event.

The day concluded with a Keynote from Professor Sandy Fredman (Oxford) speaking on her recent work on ‘The Fair Work Initiative for Platform Workers’ offering important comparative perspectives on the role (and limits) of law in securing social justice for Gig workers in different national contexts.

We are grateful for funding from the University of Bristol Faculty of Social Sciences and Law Strategic Research Fund and the University of Bristol Law School Research Centres Fund; the Leverhulme Trust; also for assistance from the Research Centres administrator, Paige Spicer.

Further information

The Centre for Law at Work is dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue around legal issues related to work. Embracing a wide range of methodological approaches to the study of law at work, the Centre’s members academics combine internationally-recognised research profiles with a wealth of experience working with organisations that are responsible for policy-development, professional regulation and social advocacy. By engaging diverse voices and perspectives the Centre aims to influence policy at national, transnational and international levels.

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