Many of you may know of the taxi app, Uber and its army of self-employed drivers. The company has gone from strength to strength with its innovative way of delivering cheap and reliable taxis in a short space of time.
However, one black cloud that hangs over the company is its treatment of drivers. The company believes its self-employed drivers have the freedom to choose how much they work, whilst the ability for drivers to rate customers and vice versa means they can easily avoid rowdy and unruly fares.
On the other hand, many former drivers have argued that the conditions they work in are not as good as made out and that they are poorly treated despite supposedly being self-employed. This has led to the forthcoming case of Aslam and others v Uber BV.
The drivers are claiming that they are actually workers. If they are held to be workers then Uber would have to allow them employment rights such as holiday pay and the minimum wage. This case could have a wider impact on other companies who use a similar model, including the parcel delivery firm Hermes, whose drivers have been reported to earn as little as £5.50 an hour, and the food delivery firm Deliveroo, who contrary to s203 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, have clauses that prevent couriers bringing Tribunal claims
Leave A Comment