Business Law

(1000 word essay)
Instructions given to me for the essay in an email:

Critically analyse the recent UK Supreme Court decision in Barclays Bank v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13

The length of the essay is 1,000 words and you need to look at essay structure very carefully.

You should use your textbook and find the area of law that the decision covers (vicarious liability – Lucy Jones Introduction to Business Law 5th edition (OUP, 2019) chapter 12.9 (pp. 361-365)). Read this but do not simply summarise this material and put it in your essay.

Read the UK Supreme Court decision in Barclays Bank v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13- available here https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2018-0164.html. What is the key issue at stake in the case (HINT – Lady Hale addresses this in paragraph 1 of her judgment). You should mention this in the introduction to your essay.

Next your essay should contain a VERY SHORT summary of the facts (paragraphs 2-6 of the judgment). Try to do this in 50 words or less. This was an area where students lost mark in the original essay. In a law module we are interested in the legal principles more than the background facts.

Don’t get too distracted by paragraphs 7-26 of the judgment. Lady Hale is summarising what the earlier cases dealing with the legal principle at stake in Barclays Bank. The key paragraph is paragraph 27 where Lady Hale expresses the legal rule that she believes applies (better students will comment on her remarks about Lord Phillips’ “five incidents” test).

In paragraph 28, Lady Hale applies the legal principle that she has outlined in paragraph 27 to the facts of the case before her. As Lady Hale knows, the decision in Barclays Bank will have wider implications because of the position of the UK Supreme Court in the common law system of judicial precedence and the fact that people suffer harm when they interact with those working for commercial companies – paragraph 29 is her attempt to indicate the limits of the principle enunciated in Barclays Bank and to offer an obiter dictum about the applicability of the judgment to the so-called “gig” economy.

The marks are awarded for showing (i) you understand the legal principle at stake in the case and (ii) the impact of the decision on the legal principle at stake in the case. The question asks you to “critically analyse” the decision so you need to express a reasoned opinion as to whether you agree or disagree with the decision (and potentially the impact of the decision on the so-called “gig” economy).

You may wish to read an online commentary on the decision (or two). The UK Labour Law blog by Anna Williams is probably much too detailed for your needs but notice how she conceptualises the Barclays Bank decision. Also note how the blog should be referenced – (Suggested citation: ‘A Williams, ‘Barclays Bank plc v Various Claimants: further blurring boundaries in employment status?,’ UK Labour Law Blog, 6 July 2020, available at https://uklabourlawblog.com).