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IEA expert comments on Deliveroo ruling
Professor Len Shackleton, Editorial and Research Fellow at free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, commented on the UK Court of Appeal ruling that Deliveroo riders are self-employed
“While lawyers may be able to discern the difference between the status of Deliveroo riders and Uber drivers, most of us remain bemused.
“These new forms of employment are neither fish nor fowl and their status should not depend on angels-on-a-pin judgments. If workers do not see their gig work as regular, permanent employment and wish to forego the rights associated with regular employment status, they should be allowed to do so.
“The government wants to force gig workers into the straitjacket of employee status simply to squeeze more tax and national insurance out of them. Their time would be better spent reforming the archaic and deceptive way of taxing all forms of labour income.
“This is a system which, when combined with employer and employee NI contributions and tax-free allowance and benefit withdrawals, makes for alarmingly high effective marginal tax rates which distort incentives at some income levels.”
Notes to editors
Contact: Emily Carver, Head of Media, 07715942731
IEA spokespeople are available for interview and further comment.
