Uber loses UK appeal over employment rights
Uber lost an appeal in the UK on Wednesday against a ruling classing its drivers as workers with access to employment rights such as paid holidays and minimum wage.
The judges found there was a “high degree of fiction” in the contracts between Uber and its drivers who the company said were self-employed independent contractors leaving it exempt from granting employment rights.
The judgment handed down on Wednesday said: “For [Uber] to be stating to its statutory regulator that it is operating a private hire vehicle service in London and is a fit and proper person to do so, while at the same time arguing in this litigation that it is merely an affiliate of a Dutch-registered company which licenses tens of thousands of proprietors of small businesses to use its software, contributes to the air of contrivance and artificiality which pervade’s Uber’s case.”
The ruling could affect tens of thousands of workers in the gig economy in the UK although the company plans on filing another appeal and take the case to the supreme court.
An Uber spokesperson said: “This decision was not unanimous and does not reflect the reasons why the vast majority of drivers choose to use the Uber app. We have been granted permission to appeal to the supreme court and will do so.
“Almost all taxi and private hire drivers have been self-employed for decades, long before our app existed … If drivers were classified as workers they would inevitably lose some of the freedom and flexibility that comes with being their own boss.”
The firm has over 45,000 licensed drivers operating in London and more than 3.5m riders in the UK. It announced a tie-up with insurance provider AXA earlier this year to offer European drivers insurance coverage for injury, sickness and family leave payments.