Uber has lost its appeal at the UK Supreme Court,Silip which ruled that Uber drivers should be classed as workers and not as self-employed.
The ruling could have significant implications on the wider gig economy and its business model, and even on UK employment law. Uber drivers won the right to minimum wage, holiday pay, and protection from discrimination in the ruling.
The company had appealed to the Supreme Court after losing three previous court cases, arguing that its drivers were independent contractors. Uber has 65,000 active drivers operating in the UK.
The Supreme Court's seven judges unanimously rejected the ride-hailing app's appeal, and strongly criticised Uber's driver contracts and the lack of basic rights afforded to its drivers.
The decision also ruled that drivers' working time would not be limited to passenger rides, but whenever drivers were logged into the app.
Uber was strategically specific in its press comments, saying, "We respect the Court's decision which focussed on a small number of drivers who used the Uber app in 2016." Whether the company will apply this ruling to all 65,000 of its workers remains to be seen, but it does indeed set a precedent.
SEE ALSO: Uber and Lyft-backed Prop. 22 passes in significant loss for many California gig driversIn 2016, Uber drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam won an employment tribunal against the ridesharing company, which ruled that drivers had the right to be classed as workers, not self-employed. Uber says it has made changes following that result, though it has appealed the ruling twice since then.
"Since then we have made some significant changes to our business, guided by drivers every step of the way," says Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, in a statement emailed to Mashable. "These include giving even more control over how they earn and providing new protections like free insurance in case of sickness or injury. We are committed to doing more and will now consult with every active driver across the UK to understand the changes they want to see."
Aslam, co-lead claimant and App Drivers and Couriers Union president said he was overjoyed and greatly relieved by the decision "which will bring relief to so many workers in the gig economy who so desperately need it."
The outcome is a direct contrast to a recent result in the U.S., with the majority of Californians voting in favour of the Uber and Lyft-backed Proposition 22, which continues to classify drivers in the state as independent contractors instead of employees.
Topics Uber
The Cambridge Analytica Con
W Stands for W by Stephen Haines
Six Photos from W. G. Sebald’s Albums by Nick Warr
The Secrets of Beauty by Jean Cocteau
The Budget and the Political Imagination Deficit
Happy Books by Sophie Haigney
Six Photos from W. G. Sebald’s Albums by Nick Warr
On Peter Pan by Laurie Stone
Don’t Let Them Win
Beginning with Color: An Interview with Etel Adnan by Laure Adler
Hugh Hefner Was Always an Abusive Creep with Bad Taste in Leisure Wear
Happy Books by Sophie Haigney
Fun by Jeremy Atherton Lin
A Memory from My Personal Life by Hebe Uhart
The Ministry of Politainment
Ananda Devi and Callie Siskel Recommend by The Paris Review
A Winter Dispatch from the Review’s Poetry Editor by Srikanth Reddy
W Stands for W by Stephen Haines
Throne of Games
Paul Bowles in Tangier by Frederic Tuten
Sinner vs. Fritz 2024 livestream: Watch ATP Finals for freeArkadium mini crossword answers for November 14BookTok's growing rift over politics is heating upMove over, Ring! Apple is reportedly releasing a new smart home cameraBest gaming monitor deal: Save $320 on curved Samsung Odyssey G5Pizza Hut wants you to use the PS5 to keep your pizza warmStarbucks Red Cup Day: How to get free reusable red cupBest Black Friday TV deal: 47% off 98Best LG OLED TV deal: Save over $40 on a 55Move over, Ring! Apple is reportedly releasing a new smart home cameraBest sunset lamp deal: Save $8 on viral sunset lampATP Finals 2024 livestream: Watch live tennis for freeBest early Black Friday AirPods deal: Get AirPods 3 for under $100Arkadium mini crossword answers for November 14Best kids tablet deal: Get the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Pro $80 offApple defended its oddly placed M4 Mac mini power button — here's my take as a new ownerBest birthday gifts for momBest WiFi deal: Save $120 on the Google Nest WiFi ProGoogle Gemini is now available for the iPhonePizza Hut wants you to use the PS5 to keep your pizza warm The “American Idol of Microfiction” Gets a New First Prize by The Paris Review Power Lunches by Jamie Feldmar On Cataloguing Flaubert by Charlotte Strick Your Eyes Deceive You: Claire Beckett at the Wadsworth Atheneum by Drew Johnson Heal Thyself by Maureen Miller Advice to a Young Illustrator by Sadie Stein David Rakoff, 1964–2012 by Lorin Stein Henry James’s Living Room: Literary Color Palettes by Pantone by Sadie Stein Bookscapes, Book Gardens by Sadie Stein Infinite Bikini, New Fitzgerald by Sadie Stein Speaking the Language by Michael Spies Rich Writers, Niche Bookstores, Darwin by Sadie Stein Writerly Recipes, Great Closers by Sadie Stein Wharton, Borges, and Grey: Fan Rejection, Crime, and Gum by Sadie Stein Letter from India: The Permit, Part 2 by Amie Barrodale The Dark Lady, Potter Gowns by Sadie Stein Letter from India: The Permit, Part 3 by Amie Barrodale Watch: At the Bindery by Sadie Stein Dreaming in French by Brian Cullman