New rules for Uber drivers - What you need to know
Uber had long argued that they weren’t a private hire operator and were in fact just a third-party platform connecting drivers and customers. The UK Supreme Court finally put this notion to bed after a 5-year long legal battle. It all culminated with the ruling that in the UK, Uber drivers are classed as workers and not self-employed contractors.
There are three distinct classes of employment for UK-based staff. They can be employees, workers, or self-employed. These employment types are subject to different rights and rules, where employees have the most rights and protections and self-employed have the least. Workers fall somewhere in between (more info here).
While this is going to have a definite knock-on effect for the wider gig-economy in the short-term, this is great news for anyone driving for Uber in the UK. Following the ruling, Uber has confirmed that their drivers will now be subject to the following rules:
They will pay at least the National Living Wage for over-25s, regardless of a driver's age, after accepting a trip request and after expenses
All drivers will be paid holiday time based on 12.07% of their earnings, paid out on a fortnightly basis
Drivers will automatically be enrolled into a pension plan with contributions from Uber alongside driver contributions, setting drivers up over the long term
It will continue free insurance in case of sickness or injury as well as parental payments, which have been in place for all drivers since 2018
All drivers will retain the freedom to choose if, when and where they drive
This ruling comes at a time when courts across Europe are experiencing similar battles with giants from the gig-economy. France’s Cour de Cassation recently upheld a ruling branding Uber’s claim that their drivers were self-employed contractors as ‘fictitious.’ Spanish courts have taken it even further and confirmed that gig-economy platforms have 90-days to classify all their workers as employees.
Europe has historically led the way in regard to workers' rights, no surprise considering it’s the continent that gave birth to Marxism. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be happening to our counterparts across the pond. Prop 22, a ballot initiative in California, brought and won by Uber and Lyft (following a $200 million campaign) means they are now exempt from classifying their drivers as employees. Under the new guidance, they can legally continue to classify their drivers as self-employed contractors.
Following Uber’s recent defeats in courts across Europe, it seems they are now planning to export this initiative to the continent. They have recently pushed an article out advocating for similar Prop 22 style regulations in Europe, which you can find here. While on the surface, the intent seems genuine it’s more likely that Uber is trying to seek a deal that benefits their business model most.
As a company worth $110 billion but never making a profit, it’s of the utmost importance for Uber that they don’t have a globally increasing wage bill.
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