A fitter working for the furniture chain Sharps Bedrooms is taking legal action for better employment rights in a case that could open the door to improving conditions and pay for thousands of gig economy workers fitting kitchens, bathrooms and cupboards for big chains.
David Lockwood, who has been classed as a self-employed independent subcontractor by Sharps, says he should instead bedefined as a worker – an official employment status which comes with benefits including holiday pay, statutory sick pay and the right to the legal minimum wage.
It is understood that fitters working on kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms for other big brands are employed in a similar way.
The legal action comes before one of the busiest times for household furniture sellers, which launch a string of discounts to win over shoppers before the peak sales period in March.
Lockwood, 58, has worked for Sharps, which is based in the Midlands, for about 30 years installing pre-made fitted furniture such as wardrobes and cupboards.
He claims that the company denies him agency in his role, subjects him to financial penalties and denies him the right to carry out work for competitors – elements that could define him as a worker. He has enlisted the law firm Leigh Day to help fight his case.
He says the company, for example, controls the dates, times and fees for his work and would impose a financial penalty if he did not give at least 72 hours’ notice if he could not attend a job.
The action against Sharps, which has been owned by the UK private equity group Epiris since 2021, comes after a string of legal battles over the rights of workers in the gig economy.
Ryan Bradshaw, a senior associate solicitor at Leigh Day, said: “David has been a loyal worker for Sharps Bedrooms Ltd for decades, yet the company treat him as a subcontractor and are in control of David’s work, setting the fees and parameters of his work.
“Furthermore, they are allegedly assuring customers that David is a member of their staff, yet putting ‘subcontractor’ on his pay statements and terms of engagement.
“We hope that by bringing this legal claim, David’s employment status can be settled and he will have access to the holiday pay and sick pay that he is owed.”
Lockwood said: “After working for 25-plus years in full-time service to Sharps Bedrooms, I feel totally failed and disrespected by them. I believe that they have used unlawful loopholes to take advantage of hard and loyal workers.”
The case, which is being supported by Law for Change, a community interest company, is the latest to challenge the rights of works in the gig economy.
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Law for Change was set up by the campaigning lawyer Stephen Kinsella to fund public interest cases that it believes will contribute to lasting social change.
In 2021, Uber was forced to pay its drivers the minimum wage and holiday pay after the supreme court dismissed the ride-hailing app’s appeal against a landmark employment tribunal ruling that its drivers should be classed as workers.
However, the takeaway and groceries courier firm Deliveroo continues to class its UK riders as self-employed independent contractors after the supreme court upheld previous judgments that they could not be classed as workers because they had the right to arrange a substitute to perform their duties if they did not want to or were unable to.
Gig economy employment status remains a grey area as ministers have failed to bring in a modern employment bill with more protections despite promising to introduce new legislation a number of times since reforms were first mentioned in the Queen’s speech in 2019.
A spokesperson for Sharps said: “We disagree with the claims made by David Lockwood and Leigh Day and will be robustly challenging any legal action.”
