In a blow to the attractive app, the UK’s main court unanimously ruled on Friday that Uber drivers are workers, upholding previous decisions by lower courts and ending a battle legal for one year.
Uber drivers must be classified as employees, not self-employed, and are entitled to rights including minimum wage, working time protection and vacation pay, the court has ruled. rule.
The issue was brought up by former Uber drivers Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, who argued that the platform effectively controls how they operate. In 2016, an employment tribunal in London found they deserved workers’ rights – a decision Uber appealed all the way to the High Court.
In explaining its judgment, the court said its decision was based on several key elements: that Uber sets fare and contract terms; the company is “restricting” drivers’ choice of accepting a cycling application; and that it exercises “significant control” over the way drivers deliver their services. The company will also restrict communication between the passenger and the driver, the court said.
The judgment also confirmed that drivers’ working time is not limited to times when they are driving passengers, but does include any time when the driver is logged in. to the app “in the appropriate field” and ready to accept the cycling request.
Aslam, president of the Union of Drivers & Messengers App (ADCU), said in a statement that he was “delighted and greatly relieved” by the decision.
In an emailed press release, Uber ‘s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, Jamie Heywood, said: “We are honored by the Court’ s decision to focus on a small number of drivers. used the Uber app in 2016. ”
He said the company had “made some major changes to our industry, driven by drivers every step of the way.” These changes include “giving them even more control over how they earn and providing new protections like free insurance for fear of illness or injury,” he said.
An employment tribunal will now decide what level of reward to give to the group of 25 drivers involved. Some 1,000 similar claims against the platform that waited until after Friday’s ruling may now go ahead.
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