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Uber Drivers Are Company Employees Not Self-Employed Contractors, Rules British Court (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the ripple-effect dept.

A British court has ruled that Uber drivers have the same employment rights as other full-time employees in the country, which makes them entitled to a wide array of benefits. Ars Technica reports: The ruling (PDF) means that drivers are now entitled to earn the national minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay, and other benefits, after the San Francisco-based taxi firm lost a case brought against them by two drivers backed by the GMB union. Uber had argued that it was a tech firm rather than a transport one, and that as its drivers were self-employed contractors it was not obliged to provide the kinds of statutory employment rights full-time workers would expect. According to the GMB, the Central London Employment Tribunal's decision will have ramifications in other industries which rely on casualized labor, and that "similar contracts masquerading as bogus self employment will all be reviewed." In the court's ruling, however, the judges insisted that "the notion that Uber in London is a mosaic of 30,000 small businesses linked by a common 'platform' is to our minds faintly ridiculous. Drivers do not and cannot negotiate with passengers... They are offered and accept trips strictly on Uber's terms." The tribunal panel reserved hefty criticism for the firm, claiming that it had used "fictions," "twisted language," and "brand new terminology" to hoodwink drivers and passengers alike. The GMB meanwhile denied that the majority of Uber drivers enjoyed the "flexibility" of their current contracts.

4 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Not just Uber. by Narcocide · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dishonest employers fooling employees into thinking they're contractors has actually long been a mainstay of the technical industry. Seriously. If you think you're a contractor and are rejecting my assertion here but you still have to report to an office at a specific time determined by your employer, you're a sucker.

    1. Re:Not just Uber. by rtb61 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, 'er', yeah that's 100% correct. Just like we expect government to protect us from crap doctors or crap lawyers or crap teachers or crap dentists or crap pilots (I have the right to evaluate my own pilot, I don't need some stinking licence to tell me whether or not they can fly a plane properly https://www.google.com.au/sear..., same goes for licences plane mechanics, who needs them, I assume you rate them 0 out of 10 just before you hit the ground ;DDD).

      Yes the government should go after employers who put their employees lives at risk, who do not pay them, who abuse their employees and that includes custodial sentences, fines and putting them out of business permanently.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  2. Re:Expected ruling from institutionalized employee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How the hell is working FOR Uber entrepreneurship. Can you Grow your Business?
    Can you Also deal with competing Companies?
    Deal Direct with Customers? Other them other services?
    No You work for Uber.

  3. Re:Expected ruling from institutionalized employee by magarity · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's entrepreneurship because you get to decide when, where, and how much you work.

    That is the definition of flexible work hours. The definition of entrepreneur is someone who establishes a business.