Uber ruling to have huge impact on employment field
The Supreme Court has recently ruled in the case of Uber v Aslam that Uber drivers should be classed as ‘workers’. This will have a huge impact in the employment law field, becoming a precedent for future cases and meaning this ruling will impact tribunal decisions across the country.
Uber have long argued that their drivers are in fact self-employed individuals, meaning they are afforded less protections than if they were legally classified as workers. However, the Supreme Court has now ruled against this.
The key points that arose are that a tribunal should examine the reality of the relationship between the parties, as opposed to solely focusing on the documentation. In addition to this, the Supreme Court declared that the drivers are ‘workers’ from the moment they log into their Uber app and are available to work in the area, to the time that they switch off their Uber app at the end of the day.
This finding comes as a huge breakthrough for Uber drivers as they will now be provided with those protections afforded to workers. Examples of these protections include the ability to claim 5.6 weeks’ paid leave per year, whistleblowing rights and other similar rights that would not have been the case if they were found to be self-employed.
It is worth bearing in mind that this judgement does not give them ’employee’ rights, such as the right to redundancy payments or the ability to claim unfair dismissal.
If you would like to discuss your employment status to make sure that you are afforded the right protections, or any other issues in relation to your employment, we offer a free initial consultation over the phone with one of our Employment specialists. We can be contacted on 01603 620508.
This article was produced on the 11th March 2021 by our Employment team for information purposes only and should not be construed or relied upon as specific legal advice.