Uber Drivers Are Workers Not Self Employed- UK Supreme Court

The UK Supreme court on Friday ruled that drivers working with ride hailing taxi app firm Uber are to be classified as workers in the UK.

The UK has over 60, 000 drivers, while lawyers say the ruling means that they are entitled to basic rights including paid holidays and minimum wage.

The ruling was delivered by Seven justices in the last round of the fight between Uber and drivers.

The Silicon Valley-based company had appealed to the Supreme Court after losing three earlier rounds of the fight in lower UK courts.

One of the Supreme Court justices, Lord Leggatt, said: “I think it clear that the employment tribunal was entitled to find that the claimant drivers were ‘workers’.”

Reacting Uber’s supervisor for Northern and Eastern Europe, Jamie Heywood, said, “We respect the Court’s decision which focussed on a small number of drivers who used the Uber app in 2016.

“Since then, we have made some significant changes to our business, guided by drivers every step of the way.”

Uber’s case started in 2016, when the London employment tribunal ruled in favour of two drivers, saying that the two drivers have equal employment rights like normal workers.

Uber however appealed the case arguing that drivers did not “undertake to work” adding they were “independent, third party contractors.”