Transcription of The gig economy - LexisNexis
1 The gig economy 1. The gig economy Introduction Welcome to the new modern work structure: the gig economy . Where temporary positions are prevalent, freelance work is the norm and organisations contract with individuals on a short term basis. Offering greater individual freedom but also ripe for exploitation for many the ultimate in customer-centric service but at what or whose expense? Since 2015, the gig economy has grown in media currency and affects thousands of individuals who carry out work on behalf of or with companies such as Uber and Deliveroo, where current UK. employment law does not adequately provide for this new model of work practice. This report considers the gig economy from an employment perspective: what it is and how it affects lawyers and their clients.
2 Containing analysis and insight from a range of industry experts, compiled by the LexisNexis Current Awareness team, this report also looks at the case for reform and regulation. Lexis PSL Employment Further Guidance We know that employment law is a fast-paced If you are a Lexis PSL subscriber, you can access the world and that staying on top of all the latest legal following further guidance for this topic. If you are not, developments is a time consuming job-add this to the you can access a free trial by clicking on the link below. time you spend carrying out research and tracking More on the gig economy : down the right precedents and you have really eaten into the precious hours in your working day. The gig economy the definition of employee With LexisPSL Employment you can find the The gig economy does litigation pose a threat?
3 Answer you need in seconds on a whole range of The gig economy exploring consumer protection employment issues from unfair dismissal to corporate transactions. More on employment law: Our easy to follow and concise practice notes will Deciding appropriate status clearly guide you through the next steps of the legal problem in hand with direct links to consolidated Employment law looking ahead to 2017. legislation, case law and key commentary sources like Cycle courier was a worker and entitled to holiday Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law. pay: Central London ET. With LexisPSL Employment you also have over 500 News analysis: Driving forward workers' rights key employment precedents at your fingertips Uber drivers prevail in holiday pay ruling including time saving automated Lexis Smart precedents which our in-house legal team ensure are always up to date and reflective of market practice.
4 For more information, or for a free trial visit: 2. The gig economy The history and the essentials of the gig economy The gig economy raises a number of interesting questions about the future direction of employment law. Advocates argue that the gig economy offers boundless innovation and empowers both workers and entrepreneurs, while critics suggest that it disenfranchises the workforce and undermines workers' rights. Denise Cheng, affiliate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former innovation fellow with the San Francisco mayor's office, suggests that historical precedents and future trends both point towards a world of opportunity that will nevertheless require careful management. The term gig economy is becoming increasingly the industrial era, managers scrambled for new ways common, but what does it describe?
5 To measure efficacy. This was especially evident in the garment trades, where workers were paid a fixed rate The gig economy is a popular label to capture the idea for every piece of clothing they produced. Workers of short-term and unpredictable work arrangements. were at a disadvantage due to the strictly quantifiable It's part of a spectrum of terms that describes peer- nature of the relationship. While it may be more than to-peer marketplaces that enable people to monetise a century later, there is an uneasiness about the levels their skills and assets. to which taskers on Taskrabbit, or drivers on Uber Despite its common usage, the gig economy is mirror domestic work and piece work. an ambiguous and perhaps non-ideal choice to Is this approach to employment being seen describe recent economic shifts because musicians, internationally and across all sectors?
6 Freelancers, and other creative professionals have long described their work in the same terms. The gig In my conversations with journalists and researchers economy is laced with assumptions about worker both in America and Europe, it seems like many welfare, but the term gig' is technically neutral. This countries are struggling with what to do. To be clear, casual usage obscures the nuance and gravity of the this sort of work has always existed, but gig economy issues at hand. It is misleading and takes focus away platforms have forced it into the light this is in part from the real problem precarity. because the workforce is visibly white and better- educated than what we typically assume of low-wage The gig economy is a popular label to workers.
7 Part of the reason it feels so unprecedented capture the idea of short-term and is because countries are openly dealing with informal unpredictable work arrangements. employment for the first time, and so we are trying to figure out culturally appropriate ways to bring it into the formal economy . What are the origins of the gig economy ? To what extent will it alter or threaten traditional It really depends on how far back you want to go . jobs and employment law as it stands? we could trace the gig economy back to domestic workers in aristocratic homes. As cities developed Certainly US labor laws have long-needed a tune-up. and populations moved, so did employment patterns. Gig economy workers fall under the independent Since the workplace was often in the domicile, contractor classification, one of only two labor governments refused to intervene.
8 Because these classifications in the US. In comparison to employees workforces were predominantly female, exploitation (the other classification), rights and support for was largely invisible. The distinctions in employment independent workers are weak, and independent norms between public and domestic realms . contractors are both their own employer and who holds authority, where, and why offer early employee. Besides higher taxes, it also means that examples of some debates currently being revisited in if an independent contractor requires benefits like discussion of the gig economy . occasional sick leave, they have to find that income We could also say that the gig economy has its roots themselves. in piece work.
9 As new machines came online during 3. The gig economy One major problem is the lack of a clear definition however, the people who lose low-wage jobs due to of what low income' means for independent creative destruction aren't often the ones rewarded contractors. Welfare eligibility is based on an with new jobs when they are created. Those typically assumption of employment income, and because go to workers with higher education levels. of this, struggling independent workers don't qualify The core proposition of the gig economy is its for certain types of public assistance. The precarity flexibility the handicraft-trading platform, Etsy, associated with the gig economy underscores surveyed their sellers in 2015 and found supporting that having only two classifications to capture the evidence for this.
10 The nature of working whenever you nearly 160 million Americans in the labor force is want, often from wherever you want, makes it possible not enough. At the very least, it's time to confront for people to earn income without compromising on the job of amending the independent contractor childcare, family obligations, medical schedules, and status a requirement that is at the core of the issue many other priorities. Gig economy opportunities can internationally. help people build up emergency savings or fill in the gaps when their income falls short. The truest believers in peer-to-peer, During my research into the gig economy , one meanwhile, will argue that disruption hopeful theme was the leveraging of gig economy is part of a natural cycle that increases opportunities for professional development.
