Potential for thousands of WRC cases but individual workers will have to argue specifics of individual circumstances
Thousands of workers may have been provided with “ammunition” to claim employment rights by the Supreme Court decision last Friday in relation to the tax status of Domino’s drivers but for the moment they face the prospect of arguing their individual cases at the Workplace Relations Commission .
The country’s largest union, Siptu, says it is awaiting a full assessment of the decision from its legal department and could consider taking a test case to clarify the decision’s implications for instances of what it regards as bogus self-employment.Why was the tourism sector ignored in the budget? Dublin based employment solicitor Anne O’Connell believes “most of the ‘gig economy workers will be affected.”
Ms O’Connell believes many workers could also argue for protections under the Employment Equality Act but that the issue of continuity of employment would likely prevent securing entitlements to redundancy or unfair dismissals rights. “I think claims could flow from this case. But I think those claims could always have been made where an individual felt they would more properly be described as an employee. They could always go to the WRC and make a claim for annual leave, or for an employment contract, or, if the relationship terminated for unfair dismissal.
Still, she argues, there is the potential for the effects of the decision to be felt across many sectors of the economy.