Uber to have its day in court over self-employment dispute

Uber to have its day in court over self-employment dispute

The international taxi app company, Uber, has been taken to court by drivers claiming that their employment rights have not been met.

The drivers argue that they should be paid the national minimum wage and be entitled to holiday and sick pay as ‘full time workers’.

Uber, however, are insisting that drivers are taken on as self-employed partners or freelancers, who earn their living from multiple sources.

According to the gov.uk guidelines, you are ‘probably’ self-employed if you run your business for yourself and take responsibility for its success or failure, have ‘several’ customers at a time and can decide how, where and when you do your work.

The lawyers will also confront Uber following accusations that the company unlawfully deducts income from the driver’s pay without warning.

“A successful claim against Uber could have wide ramifications for a range of workers in various industry sectors”, said a representative for the drivers.

“These test cases will not only determine a further 17 claims that have been brought against Uber but will have wider implications for the tens of thousands of Uber drivers”.

Previous research carried out by Uber showed that the top reason drivers use its app is because they have “complete flexibility and control”, which is likely to be presented in its defence.

However, the representative team for the drivers are likely to disagree.

“We will argue that Uber exerts significant control over its drivers in order to provide an on-demand taxi service to the public,” said a spokesperson.

“If Uber wishes to operate in this way, and to reap the substantial benefits, then it must acknowledge its responsibilities towards those drivers as workers.”