In 2018, two issues dominated employment law  – employment status and holiday pay. Both on the news and in our advice to clients, these two issues came up time and time again this year.

In relation to employment status, you may be aware of cases on the news where individuals were treated as self-employed but are asserting that they should have the benefit of workers’ rights. The Uber case was in the news today as the Court of Appeal (by a majority) upheld the Tribunal’s view that the drivers should be treated as workers. You can read the BBC summary of the case here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46617584

We have advised on lots of working arrangements this year, considering both the contractual documentation and the reality of the working relationship to ensure that the client is attaching the correct employment status to the individual as getting this wrong can be costly in terms of liability for minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay.

In relation to calculating holiday pay, the case law has continued to develop around an employee’s entitlement to be paid their normal rate of pay during periods of annual leave. Employees should not be disadvantaged as a result of taking annual leave so should receive their normal pay to include commission and overtime and not only receive basic pay during periods of annual leave.

The case law is likely to develop further in these areas in 2019 as various cases go to higher courts of appeal. Uber has said it intends to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgement to the Supreme Court. We will keep you informed of all the important developments in employment law through our Mark’s Monthly articles in 2019.

All that remains is to say thank you for your support in 2018 and to wish you a very happy Christmas.

Mark