the opportunity of being independent
contractors. A balance must be struck.
Another obstacle that regulators will
need to overcome is determining how to
reduce the problems associated with the
gig economy through regulation, while at
the same time not stifling the growth of
these companies. Gig economy compa-
nies will provide crucial work opportuni-
ties at a time when work opportunities are
fading rapidly.
One way in which regulators must be
careful about how regulations may affect
companies is cost. Many gig economy
companies are startups, and thereby par-
ticularly cost-sensitive. Regulations must
be sufficient to protect workers, but not
cost-prohibitive for gig economy compa-
nies. Fortunately, gig economy companies
such as Managed by Q, Instacart, Hello
Alfred and Munchery all provide employ-
ee-like benefits to their workers, so it can
be done.
Another problem will be crafting a uni-
form set of regulations to a non-homoge-
nous industry. ere is a vast array of com-
panies within the gig economy, and not all
protections make sense for all companies.
For example, imposing overtime require-
ments on companies such as Uber may not
make sense, as employees have substantial
autonomy about how much they can work
in a day. However, overtime requirements
may make sense for other companies.
Workers for delivery companies like Post-
mates risk being deactivated if they cancel
deliveries, even if on the basis that the de-
livery times are taking much longer than
expected. In this circumstance, workers
are in a sense being compelled to work
longer hours and thus should arguably be
provided overtime rates.
Going forward
e gig economy is something to be em-
braced. It is not something to fear — if not
because of its benefits, at least because it
will likely make up the workforce of the fu-
ture whether we like it or not.
e primary challenge going forward
is to facilitate the beneficial aspects of the
gig economy, such as its work opportuni-
ties, but not at the expense of vital worker
protections. While crafting regulations
will no doubt be an unenviable task, the
first step is to acknowledge that something
must be done. Although the most difficult
part lies ahead, we can at least take solace
in knowing that, when it comes to the ar-
gument that workers in the gig economy
should be treated as independent contrac-
tors, the gig is up.
Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017
September
27,
2017
|
Canadian
Employment
Law
Today
CREDIT: MR.WHISKEY/SHUTTERSTOCK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GEOFF MASON
Geoff Mason is an employment lawyer with Kent
Employment Law in Vancouver and Kelowna. He
can be reached at (604) 266-7006 or geoff@
kentemploymentlaw.com.
