Uber is Moviesalready fighting U.K. officials over its ban from London. Now the ride-hailing giant might head to the Supreme Court—for another case entirely.
Uber lost an appeal Friday over a ruling that required the company to categorize its drivers as workers with benefits like minimum wage, overtime, and vacation pay and not as independent, self-employed contractors.
SEE ALSO: Truly driverless cars could soon be allowed on California's roadsThis is a battle Uber has fought all over the world, including a major lawsuit in California. Classifying its drivers as workers would upend Uber's business model, which depends on the kind of obligations-free labor independent contractors provide. This is the same problem that faces other fast-growing gig economy companies that rely on independent workers, like Postmates and Instacart.
The ruling is by the U.K.'s Employment Appeal Tribunal. Two U.K. Uber drivers challenged the company's policy.
Uber plans to appeal, and the next steps take the company to the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court.
“Almost all taxi and private hire drivers have been self-employed for decades, long before our app existed. The main reason why drivers use Uber is because they value the freedom to choose if, when and where they drive and so we intend to appeal," Tom Elvidge, Uber U.K. acting general manager, said in a statement.
Uber is still going strong in the U.K., but it's spending a lot of that time in court.
Editor's note: This piece has been updated to reflect that the U.K. is considering Uber drivers as workers rather than employees, which is a legal distinction in the U.K.
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