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Bates Wells wins landmark Court of Appeal case against Uber

Today Uber lost its appeal to the Court of Appeal, in a landmark case concerning the employment rights of an estimated 45,000 drivers across London. More broadly, this ruling could affect over 2.8 million people engaged within the gig economy. The Court of Appeal’s decision upholds two earlier legal Judgments and has potentially significant implications …
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Landmark judgment on worker status confirms another huge success for Bates Wells’ Employment team

In November 2017, the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the Employment Tribunal’s decision that the Claimants in this case, all of whom are current or former London-based Uber drivers, were “workers” and consequently entitled to basic protections such as national minimum wage and holiday pay. Uber’s appeal against this decision was heard in the Court of …
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Bates Wells represent Uber drivers in landmark case in the Court of Appeal

Ground-breaking gig economy case set to have a significant impact on the rights of 2.8 million On 30 and 31 October London law firm, Bates Wells, will represent the lead Claimants in their landmark Court of Appeal (CoA) case against global transportation provider, Uber. The CoA hearing, follows last year’s ruling by the Employment Appeal …
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Uber CoA case: Paul Jennings and Rachel Mathieson write for The Times

Paul Jennings and Rachel Mathieson from our Employment team have written an opinion piece for Times Law setting out why they believe workers’ rights should not be overlooked by gig employers. Paul and Rachel are representing Claimants James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam in their case against Uber before the Court of Appeal on the 30th …
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Bates Wells is listed in the Escape 100 for a second year running

The Escape 100 list represents the purposeful organisations that are leading the way in putting their people and our planet on a par with profit. Escape the City lists the best organisations to work for in 2021, identified using 6 key criteria: impact, mission, people, planet, innovation and B Corp. Over 15,000 companies were nominated, …
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Crisis communication: top tips for charities

Peter Gilheany, director at Forster Communications, outlines a practical toolkit for communicating in a crisis. Unfortunately, crisis communications is a growth industry within the voluntary sector at the moment for multiple reasons – financial pressures, criticism from government, and chickens coming home to roost around issues like bullying, discrimination (on the grounds of race, disability, …
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Fraud and cyber security – Prepare to Prevent

The risk of fraud – especially cyber fraud – is not going away.   The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Cyber Security Breaches Survey, published in March 2021, records that one in four charities reported a cybersecurity breach in 2020-21, rising to one in two for higher-income charities. There are steps that you …
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Navigating the polarised politics of our times

Politics and public discourse have become increasingly fractured in recent years. More and more charities are bumping into the obstacle of the so-called ‘culture wars’. Navigating these issues can be a minefield for charity staff and trustees, who are pulled in what might be seen as competing directions. Charities’ work risks being seen as controversial, …
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The Charities Act 2022 explained: Charity names

In this blog we look at provisions in the Charities Act 2022 which will extend the Charity Commission’s powers in relation to charity names and, in particular, in relation to working names, possibly increasing the risk of challenges and name disputes. What do you need to know? Currently, the formal or legal name of all …
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Our tips for avoiding contractual disputes over office equipment

We are frequently approached by clients that have found themselves locked into expensive, fixed-term contracts for office devices which they can’t easily get out of. The considerable costs which arise from such contracts are a particular issue at the moment with many charities and companies facing financial difficulties as result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although …
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The Children’s Code is now in place -here’s what you need to know.

The ICO’s new Age Appropriate Design Code (“the Children’s Code”) is now effective. Children are defined widely under the Code as anyone under the age of 18. This marks a significant change in the UK where, for some years, additional data protection obligations have been triggered only in relation to children under the age of …
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Webinar: Flexible working requests – what does the law require and what does the future hold?

Given the highly flexible way in which many people have been working for the past 12 months, employers are very likely to face a marked increase in flexible working requests as we transition back to some level of office-based working. The right to flexible working is one that has already evolved over time. Enshrined in …
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