Following the decision last year that Uber drivers were workers, a tribunal has held that a bicycle courier was a worker. Her work documents described her as self-employed but in accordance with previous case law, the tribunal was entitled to look behind these, to look at what actually happened in reality.
This is another example in what is being described as a “gig economy” worker. It should be noted that this doesn’t mean they are entitled to all the protection that an employee is entitled to, but she won her claim for unpaid holidays. This is an area of law we expect to see more of in 2017.