In a landmark ruling, the UK’s highest court, the Supreme Court, has confirmed that Uber drivers are workers.
Former Uber drivers brought a claim against Uber in the Employment Tribunal in 2016 stating that they worked for Uber and thus were entitled to the basic protections afforded under UK employment law including access to minimum wage and paid holidays. In its defence, Uber has long argued that it acts as an agent for its drivers who are self-employed contractors.
The Supreme Court’s decision means that Uber drivers will now have the same rights as workers and have the ability to be protected from discrimination in the workplace as well as being entitled to paid holiday, statutory sick pay and maternity and paternity pay.
The implications for Uber and the wider ‘gig economy’ are expected to be significant. It is highly likely that Uber will be required to pay all its drivers minimum wage (and back pay as compensation) and this ruling might also open the floodgates for similar claims throughout the gig economy.
Other implications might include a rise in investment from taxi apps into driverless cars and similar technology to combat the rising costs and for the additional costs of compensating drivers to be passed on to customers with increased fares for Uber rides.
Uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than self-employed, the UK's Supreme Court has ruled.