The court said on Friday that the employment tribunal had found it appropriate to find Uber drivers to be workers, dismissing an appeal by the company. The decision was unanimous. The court said Uber drivers are workers, as the company determines fares and has significant control over drivers who use the app.
The lawsuit against Uber was first filed in the British Employment Court by Yasin Aslam and James Farrar in 2016 when both men were driving for Uber. Aslam was employed at another company, but said he was attracted to Uber by attractive salaries and bonuses.
But Aslam claims that these features quickly dried up as more drivers joined the platform, resulting in more rides and lower fares. The pair of drivers won in the employment tribunal and then in two subsequent appeals by the company.
“I am delighted and greatly relieved by this decision, which will bring relief to many workers in the jig economy who desperately need it. During the six years of this action, we have reviewed the government commission and then reviewed it,” Aslam said in a statement on Friday. That said, Jig Economy has yet to do anything to help us.
The case has now returned to the employment tribunal, which could order Uber to pay compensation to about 20 original claimants. Thousands of other drivers have taken legal action against Uber, and the verdict could be applied to them quickly. Drivers who use the platform at suit time may also be eligible to claim compensation.
An important market
The decision is a significant defeat for Uber in the United Kingdom, where it is under pressure from labor activists and transport regulators. U.S. Many actions have been taken in London, one of the most important cities in the world for a tech company.
Uber said before the epidemic that 3.5. Millions of Londoners use its app regularly and it claims 45,000 drivers in the capital. But the company frequently quarrels with regulators in the city over safety issues.
The UK court’s decision comes just months after Californians voted to exempt Uber and other gig economy companies from state law to classify their drivers as employees instead of independent contractors.
Employees who are classified as employees are entitled to benefits such as minimum wage and sick leave and unemployment insurance. Other jigsaw puzzles such as Berber and Durd Dash and InstaCart have spent more than $ 200 million publicly advocating for emancipation.
Before the UK verdict is handed down, Uber said it is committed to doing better for its drivers regardless of the outcome.
“We believe that all independent workers deserve a fair wage,” Uber CEO Dara Khosroshahi wrote in a blog post.
He added, “We urge policymakers, other platforms and social representatives to move quickly to build a framework for opportunities for relief, including industry-wide standards that all platform companies must provide for independent workers.”
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