Railroad company Uber has lost a final appeal to the UK Supreme Court to challenge tribal employment regulation that will force the company to recognize its drivers as employees.
Uber had argued that drivers and delivery riders across the private hire and food delivery services were self-employed contractors, who work for Uber on a flexible basis and therefore receive fewer benefits than full-time contractors. work.
The UK’s main court ruled that Uber’s application was “unanimously rejected” by six judges on 19 February, citing a number of ways in which Uber will control its drivers. The decision means tens of thousands of people will now be entitled to holiday pay and a minimum wage, and will have a far-reaching impact on several other companies, such as the Deliveroo food delivery app and Bolt’s rival competitors, FreeNow and Gett.
High Court Justice Lord George Leggatt said in a news of the ruling that Uber had described it as “just an agent’s role”, imposing a service charge on drivers for using his services to passengers to seek. But he noted that Uber sets the price for all rides, dictates what drivers receive as payment, and that drivers have no say in the terms agreed on the trip.
He said Uber can impose penalties on drivers for not accepting journeys, mean they could not operate for a period of time, monitor drivers’ performance through a rating system, and take steps to stop deter drivers and passengers from communicating outside the Uber ecosystem.
“Drivers are in a position of subordination and dependency in relation to Uber, so they have little capacity to improve the economic situation through professional skill or an entrepreneur,” Leggatt said.
The technology company lost all appeals against the original 2016 employment tribunal case in lower courts, with the appeal in the High Court seen as the last resort. The case was brought by a group of Uber drivers in London, who said they were employed by Uber and therefore entitled to benefits such as holiday pay and minimum wage.
Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for northern and eastern Europe, said the company would respect the court’s decision but aimed at “a small number of drivers who have used the Uber app in 2016 ”.
“Since then we have made significant changes to our business, driven by drivers every step of the way,” he said. “We are committed to doing more and will now consult with all active drivers across the UK to understand the changes they want to see.”
Uber has improved the treatment of its drivers as legal battles have progressed over the past five years, including providing insurance to cover illness or injury, paternity and maternity leave and a green energy saving scheme to bring cars up to new company policies.
The company won a battle in California last year on similar legislation, after voters put down the state’s effort to classify all app-based private hire drivers as employees.
Uber has also petitioned the European Commission to consider a “third way” for gig economy workers, ahead of an inquiry by the agency. The company said in a recommendation to the EU earlier this month that workers could receive payments from a benefit fund for insurance or time off, while still being seen as an independent contractor and working. flexibly.
The February 19 ruling is limited, however, as it only applies to Uber drivers and does not extend to those acting as couriers for its Uber Eats business. Uber said it will launch a nationwide consultation with its UK drivers to inform the next steps, the results of which will be shared in the coming weeks.