Employment Law Case Update: Aslam and others v Uber BV

In Aslam and others v Uber BV the Employment Tribunal has stated that Uber drivers should be employees rather than self-employed.

Uber provides an app which allows customers to contact taxi drivers directly for hire. Its drivers are engaged on self-employed basis with the tagline “Work for yourself, drive when you want, make the money you need”.

The status of the drivers was questioned as they stated that they did  not have the freedom to choose when they worked and if they rejected two fares in a row then they would be blocked from using the company for a period of time.

The Employment Tribunal agreed with the drivers that they should be considered to be workers and therefore entitled to rights such as holiday pay and National Minimum Wage. The tribunal decision does not mean, however, that these drivers are employees. The drivers will not be able to claim for unfair dismissal or a redundancy payment.

It is likely that this case will be appealed by Uber which holds that its drivers should be self-employed. However currently this decision is fundamental to employment status and particularly applies to those ‘gig economy’ companies such as Deliveroo. It could mean that those who believe they are self-employed are actually workers in the eyes of employment law and are entitled to enhanced rights such as minimum rest breaks and holiday pay.

This issue is back in the news this week and we’ll watch with interest and bring you any significant updates.

This article is from our weekly Employment Law Newsletter published on 10/11/2016.  If you would like to receive this newsletter directly and be kept up to date with recent cases and Employment Law news, email events@warnergoodman.co.uk.

ENDS

This is for information purposes only and is no substitute for, and should not be interpreted as, legal advice.  All content was correct at the time of publishing and we cannot be held responsible for any changes that may invalidate this article.