Stephen’s comments were published in Law360 on 17 October 2022 and the article can be accessed here.

People who take work from gig economy companies and the unions that represent them are increasingly turning to litigation to secure employment and pension rights as the government drags its heels on introducing promised reform to labor laws.

The Court of Appeal ruled in 2021 that Deliveroo drivers were self-employed for the purposes of labour law, rather than employees of the company, and could therefore not form a union. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Stephen Morrall, partner in the Business Services department at Hunters Law LLP, said that “moral pressure” applied by bodies including The Pensions Regulator for companies to give workers pensions was not a solution.

“I think the evidence is that employers won’t provide rights unless they’re forced to. Therefore, if the government wants to improve the lot of gig economy workers, they’ve got to legislate for it,” Morrall said.