“Fitter working for Sharps takes legal action over employment rights”

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…

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 says the company, for example, controls the dates, times and fees for his work…

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…

A spokesperson for Sharps said: “We disagree with the claims made by David Lockwood and Leigh Day…”