UK to consult on employment status after gig economy concerns

Britain is to launch a consultation into workplace rights in the face of public and political concern that some in the “gig economy” are being exploited.

Ministers said millions of people will be able to seek a more stable contract, have holiday and sick pay enforced, receive a list of their rights and be given a payslip.

But unions said the plans did not go far enough and accused the government of further delaying a decision on the thorny topic of whether those working for firms such as Uber and food courier Deliveroo deserve more rights.

Many in the gig economy, where people tend to work for multiple firms without fixed contracts, operate on a self-employed basis, entitling them to only basic protections such as health and safety.

Workers in Britain receive the minimum wage, holiday pay and rest breaks and employees are also guaranteed rights such as maternity leave and sick pay.

Firms such as Uber have called for greater clarity in the law but say their average drivers already earn more than the minimum wage and that they enjoy the flexibility of work.

Unions say those practices are exploitative and have taken court action, winning a high-profile case over workers' rights against Uber in 2016 which the taxi app is appealing.

Prime Minister Theresa May is keen to show she is tackling problems faced particularly by younger Britons, who deprived her ruling Conservatives of a majority in a snap election last year by overwhelmingly backing the left-wing Labour Party.