Alan is currently Professor of Labour Law at the University of Bristol and a barrister at Old Square Chambers. He was previously Professor of Labour Law at the University of Oxford, and he is Emeritus Fellow, Hertford College, Oxford. Alan was instructed by UNISON in the Mercer case at the Supreme Court.
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Bringing the Right to Strike Home: Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer – Part 2
The first part of this blog outlined the facts and decision in the Supreme Court case, Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer, as well as the approach the Court took in distinguishing between private sector and public ...
Bringing the Right to Strike Home: Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer – Part 1
Individual strikers are protected from dismissal where they are dismissed for participating in ‘protected’ (i.e lawful and official) industrial action, under s. 238A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ...
Taken for a Ride, Again: Deliveroo Riders in the Supreme Court
Last week’s ruling in Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Central Arbitration Committee came as a great surprise to many employment lawyers: the Supreme Court unanimously held that Deliveroo Riders are not in an ‘employment ...
For Whom the Bell Tolls: “Contract” in the Gig Economy
Are Uber drivers ‘limb (b) workers’ and so entitled to fundamental statutory rights such as the minimum wage and working time protections? In a decision of fundamental significance, six Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court ...
Uber v Heller and the Prospects for a Transnational Judicial Dialogue on the Gig Economy – II
In the coming days, labour lawyers from around the world will be tuning in to watch the arguments in Uber v Aslam. In terms of the wider ramifications of the reasoning in Heller, what are the prospects for the ‘contractual’ and the ...
Uber v Heller and the Prospects for a Transnational Judicial Dialogue on the Gig Economy – I
Across the world, Gig employers are now facing a legal reckoning in the highest courts. On 21st July, the issue of whether Uber drivers are ‘workers’ will be considered by a seven-member panel of the UK Supreme Court. This follows on ...
Working time and Brexit: Bad Karma?
Imagine a Karmic invitation to be reborn as a piece of employment legislation. It is very likely that the Working Time Directive (WTD) would be at the very bottom of many people’s lists. It has attracted condemnation across the ...
Hounga v Allen: Trojan Horse Comes to the Rescue of ‘Illegal’ Migrants
In Hounga v Allen [2014] UKSC 47 the Supreme Court took the opportunity to overrule one of the most controversial Court of Appeal decisions on employment rights in recent times, where the Court of Appeal held that the doctrine of ...
