Exploitative Corporations on Trial: Why 7,000 Just Eat Couriers Are Fighting for the Rights They’ve Been Denied for Years

June 16, 2026September 3, 2026 admin Corporations

This article is based on an email sent to Leigh Day clients today, 16 June 2026.

A landmark legal battle that could force companies to stop dodging their most basic obligations has just concluded its most crucial stage. In an employment status hearing that ran from 5 May to 1 June 2026, law firm Leigh Day argued before an employment tribunal that over 7,000 Just Eat couriers in England, Wales, and Scotland are not the self-employed independent contractors the company claims they are, but workers or employees entitled to fundamental protections — the national minimum wage, paid holiday, and a written employment contract.

This case is not about being against modern, flexible ways of working. It is about a single, powerful corporation choosing to misclassify its workforce in order to boost its bottom line. It represents one of the largest coordinated claims ever brought against a company that has systematically outsourced risk onto the people who make its profits possible while denying them the workplace rights that are supposed to be non-negotiable in a decent society.

A Launch We Didn’t Choose: The Rockstar Game Workers Union’s Fight for Survival and Solidarity

May 31, 2026October 8, 2026 admin Unions

When the Rockstar Game Workers Union prepared to unveil itself publicly, the plan was to celebrate a quiet milestone: 10% union membership at a single studio. That threshold was a necessary step toward formal recognition. It was meant to be a moment of hope.

Instead, management fired 31 of their members. No warning. No representation. No right of appeal.

What was supposed to be a launch became a legal battle, a global protest movement, and an industry-wide reckoning. But here’s what the company didn’t expect: the union didn’t die. It grew.

End the Exploitation: It’s Time for a Total Ban on Zero-Hours Contracts

May 28, 2026September 3, 2026 admin Reforms

The fight for decent work has reached a critical juncture. Campaigners, unions and anti-poverty organisations are united in one clear demand: ministers must press ahead immediately with a full ban on zero-hours contracts. Despite a noisy backlash from business lobby groups, the moral and economic case for ending this form of precarious work has never been stronger. Delaying the promised zero-hours contract ban will only deepen insecurity for over a million workers and trap more families in poverty.

The Employment Rights Act received royal assent last year, promising the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. At its heart is the long-awaited right to a contract with guaranteed hours, effectively consigning exploitative zero-hours contracts to history. Yet business secretary Peter Kyle has allowed a planned consultation, originally due in January, to slip until late summer. Implementation may now be pushed into next year. For the parents juggling cancelled shifts, the warehouse operatives denied a mortgage and the care workers afraid to complain, every day of delay is a day too long.

“It’s Like Being Robbed”: The Hidden Toxicity of Having Your Ideas Stolen at Work – and What Must Be Done

May 23, 2026September 3, 2026 admin Work Environment

New research reveals that ‘knowledge theft’ causes profound anger and a sense of loss, but employers have a duty to step in and restore what was taken.

You share a carefully thought-out idea in a team meeting. Days later, a colleague presents it as their own to senior leadership. You are left sitting in silence, watching your hard work benefit someone else’s career.

If this has happened to you, you are not alone – and the damage is far more than just a bruised ego. According to a new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, having your ideas stolen at work is a deeply toxic event that triggers real psychological harm, including intense anger and a profound sense of loss.

But there is good news. The same research, led by David Zweig and his team, identifies practical, worker-centred interventions that employers can – and should – use to stop the rot.

University Staff Stand Strong: Sheffield Hallam Employees Ready to Strike for Their Rights

May 11, 2026September 3, 2026 admin Strikes

In a powerful display of collective resolve, staff at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) have voted decisively in favour of strike action, sending an unmistakable message to university management: workers will not stand idly by while their livelihoods, pensions, and working conditions are dismantled.

The University and College Union (UCU) announced that its members have backed industrial action in response to proposed job cuts, deteriorating work conditions, and unwelcome changes to pension contributions. This is not a decision taken lightly — but it is a necessary one.