After months of waiting, the Supreme Court have unanimously ruled that Uber drivers are ‘workers’ as opposed to being mere ‘self-employed’ contractors; giving them entitlements to a number of fundamental rights such as holiday pay, rest breaks and the national minimum wage.

The case was initiated in 2016 by two Uber drivers, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam who contended that they were workers under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the Working Time Regulations 1998. Uber contested this claim by arguing that the drivers fell short of worker status and were simply independent contractors.

There were a range of reasons which led the Supreme Court to hand down this decision:

· The drivers are not permitted to set their own fares as they would be able to if they were self-employed.

· Uber dictates the services terms and conditions.

· The drivers can face penalties from Uber for cancelling or not accepting rides.

· Uber can penalise or even terminate drivers’ contracts if they fall below a particular rating.

· Uber proactively prevents drivers and passengers from having agreements outside of the Uber service.

Both employers and their self-employed counterparts will have been nervously anticipating this judgement as it is expected to have implications not only for the Uber but for the gig economy as a whole.

A Stephenson Harwood lawyer, Anne Pritam has described this judgement as having ‘opened the floodgates’ to a raft of claims from gig economy workers against their respective employers, who now view their employment status as being one of a ‘worker’. Organisations with similar business models to Uber may now be forced to either accept an increase in the cost of maintaining their workforce or rethink their employment structures to maintain their workers self-employed status.

In conclusion, this decision represents a tremendous victory for gig economy workers in precarious positions of employment, who now are presented with opportunities to broaden their provision employment rights. On the contrary, this decision will startle many gig economy employers who may now await a flurry of claims to come against them accompanied by the prospect of major business restructuring.

by Oliver Watt

'Worker' Status Granted to Uber Drivers