A historical precedent: IACtHR recognizes breach of the right to equality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of a socioeconomic right on intersectional grounds of gender, poverty and race in Fireworks Factory case
In July 2019, I wrote a blog post introducing the main arguments presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) through an amicus curiae brief. The case concerned Brazil’s...
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...
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...
Problems with prevailing defences for the repurposing of apartheid-legacy laws to discriminate against non-citizens
In 1964, the apartheid regime in South Africa introduced a new requirement for non-citizens seeking entry into the legal profession. To practice law, non-citizens had to acquire a permanent residence...
Suspension of Labour Laws in Uttar Pradesh Amidst COVID-19: A Fundamental Rights Emergency?
On May 6, 2020, the Uttar Pradesh government, suspended 35 out of 38 labour laws in the state for three years by enabling the Uttar Pradesh (Temporary Exemptions from Certain...
Covid-19 and Protecting the Rights of Labourers in India
At a time when approximately 10 million labourers across India are left with no food or income and are trapped in different cities due to the nation-wide lockdown, few states...
The Impact of Covid-19 on Workers’ Rights (with Michael Ford)
The spread of Covid-19 has affected many areas of our lives with major implications for our rights and freedoms. The instigation of a UK-wide lockdown has had an especially pronounced...
Now That We Care About Carers: Temporal Casualisation in Mencap and Uber
A few weeks before the lockdown, one of the most important UK labour law cases of the last decade was heard by the Supreme Court. Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson...
Sharing or Caring? The Delineation of UK Parental Rights
Following the Supreme Court’s refusal to permit an appeal in Chief Constable of Leicestershire v Hextall, the Court of Appeal’s earlier judgment remains binding. In a case which brings the...
We Must Stop the Corona Crash Becoming a Depression, with Ten Social Rights
The corona virus has triggered a stock market crash sharper and faster than the global financial crisis. It threatens a depression unless we aggressively protect social rights. Companies with plummeting...
Foodora Couriers are ‘Dependent Contractors’ Rules Ontario Labour Relations Board
In August 2019, couriers working for Foodora Inc. (Foodora), a web services company that provides an online marketplace platform connecting consumers to restaurants, voted on whether to join the Canadian...
French Court of Cassation Rules that Uber Drivers are Employees
On 4th of March 2020, French Court of Cassation (the country’s highest court for civil matters) in a landmark ruling confirmed the Paris Court of Appeal’s finding that Uber drivers...
