Gig economy worker secures supreme pensions win

Supreme Court ruling

James Phillips
clock • 4 min read

People working in the so-called gig economy have been given a renewed boost to their right to join a workplace pension scheme after the Supreme Court ruled they are 'workers' and therefore entitled to various workers' rights.

By reclassifying labourers at Pimlico Plumbers from 'independent contractors' to 'workers', the court has provided them with a partial suite of employment rights, including the right to be auto-enrolled into a pension scheme. The case comes against the background of several gig economy firms being taken to court over the way they classify their workforce. Background While many gig economy companies describe their staff as 'self-employed', or something similar, today's (13 June) unanimous Supreme Court judgment will set precedent for a number of other gig economy cases in the pipelin...

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James Phillips
Author spotlight

James Phillips

Professional Pensions journalist from 2016-2022

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