THOUGHT

34
NEWS
Pop-up practice
More rights
The landmark legal ruling which granted
Uber taxi drivers the same rights as
employed workers could have a knockon
effect for thousands of other people,
according to Shropshire legal experts.
The London Central Employment Tribunal has found that a
group of Uber drivers are not self-employed people, but workers
who are entitled to receive the National Minimum Wage and
holiday pay. Uber is an app which connects registered drivers
with passengers directly, instead of through a centralised booking
service or by just hailing a car in the street.
Ryan Bickham of PCB Solicitors says: “In a world where
temporary positions or short-term engagements are becoming more
prevalent, one of the key questions is exactly where and when do
the lines become blurred and such workers become ‘employees’?
“On the back of the Uber case, couriers working for takeaway
delivery firm Deliveroo, which currently classes its drivers as selfemployed
‘independent contractors’, have already taken legal steps
to gain unionisation and workers’ rights such as paid leave.”
Prior to the hearing, the Government appointed Matthew Taylor
to examine the ‘gig economy’ to address concerns about the lack of
workers’ rights for individuals in non-standard work arrangements,
such as maternity leave, holiday and sick pay, and pensions
protections.
Ryan says: “The Uber case has already seen a shakeup across
the employment industry, particularly those offering self-employed
jobs as part of a wider organisational structure.
“There are several different definitions in UK law on workers
and employees. An employee, for example, has full protection
including unfair dismissal and redundancy, and a worker has some
protection, including holiday pay, a maximum of 48 hours work a
week, rest breaks and an entitlement to receive minimum wage,
whilst a ‘gig’ economy worker, might be opted out of all of those.”
Johnson Design Partnership team members preparing
for their Ludlow show, from left Matt Spinks, director and
senior architect, Kim Chesters, practice manager, and
Michael Daw, architectural assistant
A Shropshire architectural
firm hosted a ‘pop-up practice’
on the outskirts of Ludlow.
Johnson Design Partnership
staged the two-day exhibition
at the Clive Hotel in Bromfield
when a range of architectural
models, visuals, drawings and
videos were on show.
Founder Vic Johnson
said: “Our aim was to meet
prospective clients face to
face, build up relationships
with people and connect
with businesses, offering
consultation on general
design matters or specific
projects.
“Ludlow is an amazing
place to live and work and we
are keen to raise our profile
here.”
Pension plot?
There are early
signs that some
pension savers risk
exhausting their funds
in retirement. NICK
The Association
of British Insurers has JONES
published statistics for
the first full year since
the Freedom and
Choice pension reforms were
introduced, covering the period
from April 2015 to April 2016.
While the figures show that
the majority of savers are taking
a sensible approach, there are
signs that a minority may be
withdrawing too much from their
pension fund.
Moreover, that minority is
doing so at rates that would see
their money run out in a decade
or less, if they are reliant on it as
their main source of income.
During the last quarter,
4% of pots had 10% or more
withdrawn, with many other
savers taking their whole fund
in one go. However, the data is
unable to reveal whether these
savers may have multiple pots
or other sources of regular
income.
The most recent quarter also
shows a slight drop in the sales
of guaranteed income (annuity)
products, with £950 million
invested, compared to £1.1
billion in the previous quarter.
Sales of flexible income
(drawdown) products have
remained consistent, with £1.48
billion invested, compared
to £1.49 billion the previous
quarter.
The ABI said that the fall in
annuity sales in the last quarter
probably reflected ongoing
pressure on annuity rates. Those
rates have since been pushed
down further by the Bank of
England’s August decision to cut
interest rates to a new all-time
low, and to introduce further
quantitative easing measures.
Retirees opting for
drawdown pensions should seek
professional help to calculate
how much money they can
withdraw each year without
running out.
While selecting a balanced
and well-diversified investment
portfolio is critical, knowing how
much money to take from a
drawdown policy is arguably of
greater importance.
• Nick Jones is the
principal of Nick Jones Wealth
Planning in Shrewsbury, a
partner practice of St. James’s
Place Wealth Management
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