ECJ rules in favour of workers on holiday pay – implications for media sector?

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Recent case law developments have led to an increase in the protection afforded to some individuals who work on a self-employed basis. Indeed, only last month the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld a ruling that Uber drivers are ‘workers’, meaning they are entitled to be paid the national minimum wage and holiday pay (MediaWrites previously reported on the first instance decision here).  Similar judgments have recently been handed down to the detriment of other tech-based taxi/delivery companies. Whilst some of these cases are being appealed it is clear that the direction of travel from the courts is to grant atypical workers rights which many businesses assumed they were not previously entitled to.

It has long been the norm for media businesses to engage contractors and consultants to benefit from their specialist expertise or assist with ad-hoc projects that have pressing deadlines.

In this article, Elizabeth Lang and Penny Hunt discuss the recent European Court of Justice case of King v Sash Window Workshop Ltd, and its potential to have significant financial implications for organisations that utilise contractors or consultants.

To read the full article, follow this link.

Penny is a Legal Director in Bird & Bird's Employment Group, based in London. She has clients in a wide range of sectors including music, media, construction and information technology. Penny advises extensively on a wide range of issues, including senior executive terminations, redundancy exercises and complex disciplinary and grievance matters. Penny has significant experience of managing complex litigation in the Employment Tribunals defending employers against claims such as unfair dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages, discrimination and whistleblowing claims. She also acts for executives which informs her commercial and down to earth approach in advising her employer clients.

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