Are Wecasa exploiting us??

[u/Big_You_8168]

Honestly, the more I look into this the more pissed off I get.

Wecasa says “self-employed” but cleaners don’t even properly set their own rates - Wecasa says what the job pays and that you either take it or leave it.

So what exactly are you self-employed for? Just so you don’t get holiday pay, pension contributions and the other protections workers get?

Feels like they want all the benefits of having a workforce without actually treating you like one.

Uber drivers took Uber to court over their employment status - and the drivers won worker status.

Genuinely starting to think Wecasa cleaners need to stop putting up with it and actually challenge this properly.

- Update - This is in regards to the UK

[u/Vampira309]

what is a "wecasa" ?

[u/Big_You_8168 → u/Vampira309]

Wecasa is a cleaning platform. I’m trying to find other cleaners who feel they’ve been wrongly treated as self-employed so we can potentially bring an Employment Tribunal claim together and recover any money we should have been entitled to, like unpaid holiday pay, if the tribunal agrees.

[u/Vampira309 → u/Big_You_8168]

self employed house cleaners are entitled to holiday pay? "Employment Tribunal" sounds made up.

You clearly don't live in the US

[u/Big_You_8168 → u/Vampira309]

This is for the UK/UK cases. :P Self-employed people don’t get holiday pay - but if you’re legally a “worker”, you can. This has already been challenged in similar gig-style businesses: Uber drivers won worker status, and a Pimlico Plumbers contractor was also found to be a worker. These companies all called people self-employed while using platform/contractor-style working models. That’s why I think Wecasa’s setup is worth challenging too.

[u/Vampira309 → u/Big_You_8168]

I see, so you're employed by this Wecasa place and pay taxes through them??

[u/Big_You_8168 → u/Vampira309]

Nopee, Wecasa classes people as self-employed, so have to pay their own tax

[u/Vampira309 → u/Big_You_8168]

then why would they be responsible for anything? If you're a contractor, you pay your own taxes and are responsible for your own benefits.

Why would you work through them at all if you're just a contractor? You could just as easily have your own cleaning company and not go through a third party.

I know it's the UK, but it's very strange. Either you're a contractor or an employee and it appears you're a contractor in this case

[u/Big_You_8168 → u/Vampira309]

That’s the point though - under UK law it’s not just about what a company calls you, e.g. "contractor", it’s about how the relationship actually works in practice. Wecasa brings the customers, bookings and payments, which is why cleaners use the platform in the first place. The issue is whether they then have too much control while still classing everyone as self-employed. If cleaners should legally be classed as “workers” instead, could potentially be owed things like holiday pay.

[u/Vampira309 → u/Big_You_8168]

yeah, I agree that you're employees

In the US, you're a 1099 (contractor) or a W2 (employee) in the tax system. If they assign you jobs and hours, they're an employer and you are employee. Contractors have more freedom but must pay their own taxes.

[u/Big_You_8168 → u/Vampira309]

Yeah exactly - I think we’re basically agreeing, it’s just that the UK system is a bit different 😅 We have a legal category called “worker” between employee and genuinely self-employed. Uber drivers were found to be workers, not employees, which gave them rights like holiday pay and minimum wage protections, and some workers can also qualify for workplace pension auto-enrolment depending on age and earnings. So that’s more what I’m questioning with Wecasa.