Uber Faces Setback as U.K. Court Rules Drivers Are Entitled to Worker Rights -- Update
February 19 2021 - 6:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Sam Schechner
The U.K.'s top court ruled that a group of former drivers for
Uber Technologies Inc. were entitled to a minimum wage and other
benefits while working for the company, dealing a setback to Uber
and other gig-economy firms in world-wide battles over their
employment model.
The U.K.'s Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision issued Friday,
upheld lower court decisions that granted the 25 drivers a type of
U.K. employment status at Uber. The company had appealed those
rulings, maintaining that its car-service and food-delivery drivers
were independent contractors, without employee rights.
While Friday's decision directly applies only to the former Uber
drivers involved, it sets a potential precedent for others in the
U.K. who work for companies in the gig economy, where apps
distribute individual tasks to a pool of people that the app makers
regard as independent contractors.
Uber said the decision doesn't automatically reclassify all of
its U.K. drivers, and noted that since the case was filed it has
added driver benefits such as insurance for sickness and
injury.
"We are committed to doing more and will now consult with every
active driver across the U.K. to understand the changes they want
to see," said Jamie Heywood, Uber's regional chief for Northern and
Eastern Europe.
Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 19, 2021 06:02 ET (11:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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