NEVER before has a humble plumbing firm been the subject of such intense public interest. On February 20th Britain’s Supreme Court was filled with lawyers,trade unionists and businesspeople. They had come to watch the first day of a hearing involving Pimlico Plumbers, a middle-class favourite, and one of its former engineers,Gary Smith. The case centres on whether Mr Smith was truly self-employed and merely contracting to Pimlico, or whether his relationship with the firm more closely approximated one of employment. The case is considerable because increasingly Britons’ working lives resemble Mr Smith’s. Partly fuelled by technology, or Britains “gig economy” has taken off in recent years. Uber,a ride-hailing firm, has perhaps 50000 drivers in Britain. Over 1m Britons hold found work through online platforms in the past year alone. They tend to hold short-term contracts or work freelance, and rather than occupying full-time,permanent positions.
The rise of the...
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Source: economist.com