Changes to Worker Status Post Uber Ruling Conference

Welcome and outline of the day

Elizabeth Smith

Director of Research
Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)

View Bio

Elizabeth Smith

Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)

Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.

A warm welcome on behalf of BFI and a look at the topics covered, how to get the most of the briefing as a delegate and an update on any developments in the area since we published the programme.

Legal analysis of the ruling: what does this really mean for Uber and other gig economy employers?

Paul Jennings

Partner
Bates Wells

View Bio

Paul Jennings

Partner , Bates Wells

Paul advises companies, charities, LLPs and senior executives on all aspects of employment and partnership law. His day-to-day practice involves dealing with the full range of employment law and partnership issues. This can range from negotiating complex contracts to pursuing and defending high-value claims. Paul has a particular interest and expertise in the law on status and discrimination having fought a numbering of the defining cases in these areas. His clients include PLCs, international charities, media and technology businesses, senior executives and start-ups. He has been recognised for a number of years as a leader in the field of employment law by the leading legal directories and frequently provide commentary for television and news media. He regularly speaks at HR and legal conferences and he oversees the employment team’s annual seminar programme.

• Looking beyond the immediate concerns of uber and its drivers
• Written contracts
• Determining a worker’s status
• Implications to current business models
• “Subordination and control”
• Understanding the ramifications and far-reaching consequences

Legal implications: preparing for changes to employment status in 2021 and beyond

Rachel Mathieson

Senior Associate
Bates Wells

View Bio

Rachel Mathieson

Senior Associate , Bates Wells

After qualifying into Druces LLP’s Employment team in 2014, Rachel gained experience advising on contentious and non-contentious matters for both employer and employee clients across a wide range of sectors. She has considerable experience in the financial sector and on negotiating exits for both the employer and the employee. Rachel joined the Employment team at Bates Wells in July 2016 and now acts for household name commercial entities, charities, partnerships and senior executives. Bates Wells practice includes negotiation of exits, advising on restrictive covenants and advising employers on dismissals including discrimination issues. She also undertakes a broad range of contentious work on cases in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal including in relation to worker status, discrimination and whistleblowing.

• Implications for tribunal system
• Post-Brexit review of UK employment law
• Potential divergence from EU labour market standards
• Changing tax incentives
• New immigration law: status of foreign workers
• Risk of economic pressure of COVID forcing employers to cut corners on workers’ rights
• Other workers bringing own cases, citing decision as precedent
• Implications to your unions relationships

Coffee break

Stretch your legs, rest your eyes and check your emails if you need to.

Legal Q&A

An unmissable chance to quiz the experts on this ruling, what it means for UK employers, as well as for your own organisation. Delegates may submit questions prior to the day, but will also be encouraged to engage personally in this important discussion and analysis.

The employers’ response: checklist for a workable policy

Julia Kermode

Founder
IWORK.

View Bio

Julia Kermode

Founder , IWORK.

Julia Kermode, Contingent Workforce Expert, IWORK Julia is a contingent workforce expert on a mission to safeguard workers, empower them and ensure they are treated fairly. She has spent the last decade deeply ensconced within the world of contingent work, tax legislation, employment rights, worker rights, umbrellas and the wider recruitment sector. It's niche, and she loves this space! Julia is founder of IWORK (www.iwork.co.uk), which exists to prevent contingent workers being exploited through being unaware of tax regulations and other relevant legislation. IWORK helps to expose dubious practices that mistreat or profiteer from contingent workers, such as holiday pay retention (immoral but not illegal), payroll skimming, bribery and corruption. Julia actively champions contingent working, and lobbies the government for fair legislation on issues such as tax avoidance, disguised remuneration, loan charge, employment status, IR35/off-payroll and the gig economy. Prior to IWORK, Julia spent 7 years as CEO of FCSA, a compliance accreditation body for accountants and umbrella companies. Here she led unprecedented growth, successfully transforming the organisation from obscurity to being the ubiquitous go-to compliance requirement for the supply of temporary workers. Julia also spearheaded FCSA’s influence within the government, and raised standards within the often-misunderstood umbrella sector. Julia is very well-respected in the contracting industry, passionate and good at what she does. She is also a contractor herself, providing consultancy services to advise and support businesses in how they engage contingent workers.

• Control of workers and guarantee of service
• Sick-pay and holiday pay
• Pension schemes
• Minimum wage
• Long-term
• UK look at labour market regulation
• Novel forms of work proliferating
• Possibility of national licensing scheme

Panel debate - platform work: policy and precariousness

Matthew Taylor

Chief Executive
Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (The RSA)

View Bio

Matthew Taylor

Chief Executive , Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (The RSA)

Matthew Taylor CBE FAcSS is a British former political strategist and current Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in the United Kingdom since 2006. In 2005, he was appointed by incumbent Prime Minister Tony Blair as head of the Number 10 Policy Unit. He is a writer, public speaker and broadcaster who has been a panellist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze since 2008. In October 2016, he was appointed Chair of the Review of Modern Employment established by Prime Minister Theresa May; the Taylor Review report Good Work was published in July 2017.

Mick Rix

GMB Union National Officer
GMB Union

View Bio

Mick Rix

GMB Union National Officer , GMB Union

Current GMB Union National Officer Joined GMB Union 1979 in our Yorkshire & North Derbyshire Region. Previously: -District Secretary ASLEF train drivers union -General Secretary ASLEF train Drivers Union. -TUC representative on the government safety body RIAC, member of various TUC committee and General Council. Attended various delegations internationally for the TUC, along with private discussions with senior politicians. -Chair of the ITF Eurotunnel consultative committee. -Vice Chair International Transport Workers Federation Railway Section -Member of ETF (negotiating) committee mobile workers with employers and social dialogue committee of the EU commission. Was the SEIU/ T&G UK Organiser for International Campaigns on First Group/ National Express. Was the ITF Global Organiser working with ICEM on Transport & Oil campaigns. GMB Union - - Responsible for strategic organising/ campaigns/ industrial relations/ collective bargaining with a range of companies in the Transport & Logistics sector, including companies such as Amazon, DHL, Wincanton, XPO, BFS Group, Bestfood Logistics/Booker Negotiated and Organised with all major industrial sectors, Retail Wilkos, Walmart ASDA, Aviation BA, Servisair/Swissport, Dnata, Menzies, Manufacturing and Process Sectors, Paper & Corrugated Sectors, Energy & Nuclear Sectors, Water Industry, Public Sectors HE & FE. Currently has national and strategic responsibility for organising in the “GiG” economy for GMB Union, including Amazon, Couriers/ Drivers/ Warehouse Opps/ Taxi & PHV Drivers trades.

Dave Chaplin

CEO
IR35 Shield

View Bio

Dave Chaplin

CEO , IR35 Shield

Dave Chaplin is the CEO of tax compliance firm IR35 Shield which enables firms, agencies and contractors to remain compliant with the Intermediaries Legislation (IR35) and Off-payroll legislation. Dave is the author of the Contractors’ Handbook Third Edition and more recently IR35 & Off-Payroll – explained. He assists with IR35 tax tribunals, has consulted on many occasions for HMRC, advises politicians and Government bodies on freelance tax matters, and is prolifically quoted in the trade and national press. In November 2020, Dave was included in the Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)’ list of Europe’s 100 most influential leaders in the staffing industry.

Rebecca Seeley Harris, LLB (Hons) LLM MSc

Employment Status, Off-payroll & IR35 Expert
Re Legal Consulting Ltd

View Bio

Rebecca Seeley Harris, LLB (Hons) LLM MSc

Employment Status, Off-payroll & IR35 Expert , Re Legal Consulting Ltd

Rebecca is a leading expert and thought leader on employment status, off-payroll working and IR35 and is the author of CEST Explained.  Recently she won the Contracting Industry Influencer of the Year 2023 and last year won the FSB Self-employed Sole Trader of the Year.  She was also shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution to Taxation 2020-21 in the Tolley’s Taxation Awards for her campaigning work during the Covid pandemic. Rebecca set up her legal consultancy, Re Legal Consulting Ltd, when the Inland Revenue brought in the IR35 tax initiative some 23 years ago.  Since then Rebecca has specialised on IR35, off-payroll working and the employment and tax status of the self-employed and personal service companies. She works with clients nationally and internationally, the private and the public sector, with representative organisations and government.  Rebecca was seconded to the Office of Tax Simplification (an independent body of HM Treasury)  as a Senior Policy Adviser to advise the government on employment and tax status.  Reporting direct to the Chancellor, Rebecca was part of a small team of experts who drafted the Employment Status Review 2015 and the Small Company Taxation review [2016] leading on the taxation of nano companies and the self-employed.  Rebecca developed the concept of SEPA, providing a vehicle to the self-employed to be able to protect the family home.  Rebecca was also a representative on the Cross-Government Working Group on Employment Status and also published the review into the taxation of the Gig Economy. She is a member of the Tax Faculty of the ICAEW and is a consultant to the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG) and Urgent Health UK, amongst others.  She has recently written a book called CEST Explained which, as the title suggests, explains HMRC’s digital tool Check Employment Status for Tax.  Rebecca is often quoted in the press including the Financial Times, the Telegraph and the Times amongst others.  She also contributes to the professional press and writes articles on employment status. Rebecca has most recently started a campaign for the regulation of umbrella companies and the protection of umbrella company workers.  She does this voluntarily by drafting policy documents for the government to use to bring forward legislation.

Experts in this area will debate the future of online platform work such as Handy, Deliveroo, Upwork and other zero hours and self-employment trends in the context of the way in which the court framed the Uber decision. We will also examine the need to clarify UK employment status in the light of the pandemic and the crucial steps UK employers need to take right now to ensure their Modern Slavery Statement is workable, as well as ensure they are protected against similar claims and reputational risks.

End of Briefing