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It’s final - Uber drivers are workers
Uber have lost their appeal in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme court unanimously dismissed the appeal. It now means that drivers are now considered ‘workers’ for employment law purposes. Employment law & HR specialist, Chris Dobbs looks at the ruling and it's implications for employers, businesses, and the gig economy.
UK Supreme Court ruling on Uber Drivers
The Supreme Court today handed down its ruling in a landmark employment law case, Uber BV v Aslam & others.
The court unanimously upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal that ruled Uber Drivers were workers, and not self-employed contractors.
The case will have huge implications, not just for Uber, but for many other businesses and operators in the ‘gig economy’.
What does the Uber ruling mean for drivers?
Drivers will welcome the ruling which means they are entitled to claim minimum wage (including backpay) and, most importantly, that claim being for all hours in which they were logged onto the app and available for work, not just the time spent actually driving.
The drivers can claim the smaller of to two years’ of backpay in the tribunal (though there is some dispute as to the legality of this limitation) or £25,000; or up to six years in the county court regardless of value.
Separately, the designation as workers entitles the drivers to their full 5.6 days of paid annual leave each year and for rights in relation to whistleblowing, for example. It is not a full ‘employee’ status which would entitle them to protection from unfair dismissal, however.
The day-to-day effect for drivers will be interesting to watch and it depends on whether Uber accept the position or try to amend future contracts to make the case for actual self-employed status. The latter may see drivers with a significantly greater degree of flexibility and, possibly, the end of the rating system as we know it.
Implications for Uber as a business
Uber’s immediate concern will be the scale of potential awards which every driver will now be eligible to make. Holiday pay and working hours alone are likely to be significant. In 2016, at the time of the original tribunal case, there were some 30,000 drivers in the London area alone.
No doubt Uber will rapidly look to rework their employment contracts although they should be careful not to fall into the trap CitySprint encountered when they lost on employment status for the third time last year.
What does the Uber ruling mean for employers (businesses)?
Businesses purporting to have self-employed individuals should take particular heed of this judgment and revisit their staff relationships.
The Supreme Court made it very clear that the contractual relationship is only a starting point and is by no means determinative of status. What matters is the actual reality of the relationship.
Will we now see a rush of claims from self-employed taxi drivers?
I would not be at all surprised to see increased interest in employment status claims from anyone who is deemed self-employed but who might, in fact, be a worker. These claims do potentially have significant financial value especially when coupled, as in the Uber case, with working time issues.
The important thing to bear in mind is the true relationship in practice and, in particular, how much control the business has over how and when the individual does their work.
What does the Uber ruling mean for the gig economy and casual workers?
For gig-economy workers who want a degree of protection, worker status is seen as the holy grail, a topic I wrote about last year.
This ruling may shape decisions on ongoing employment status cases, and even embolden future potential claimants. Those who were debating their chances, or awaiting this outcome, may find themselves more confident in seeking to enforce their actual employment status.
The Supreme Court is as far as this case can be heard and there is no further basis for appeal. We are unlikely to see a major employment status case of this kind for some time unless legislative change requires it.
Businesses using the Uber-style model, or any contractor style relationship for all of its staff, should think very carefully about whether individuals are in fact self-employed or if their working practices indicate worker status. Changes are likely to be required, and hopefully made, across a number of sectors.
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