Employment law Couriers carrying blood for NHS win full employment rights The Doctors Laboratory concedes that some of its cyclists and drivers are employees Most cycle couriers are described as ‘self-employed’ by the firm they work for. Photograph: Alamy Stock PhotoCouriers carrying emergency blood supplies for the NHS have won full employment rights in a first for the gig economy. The proposals came in response to the Downing-Street-commissioned review by Matthew Taylor that aimed to provide new ways of improving the lot of gig economy workers. But gig economy workers are angry that the proposals stopped short of new legislation to prevent bogus self-employment. Michael Newman, a lawyer at Leigh Day, which has been involved in a number of gig economy rights cases, said it was clear the government needed to do more to bring about change.

Source: The Guardian February 07, 2018 17:38 UTC