Uber drivers get “workers” status

Minimum wage, holiday pay and pension benefits
Charlie Richardson
23 March 2021
Uber drivers get “workers” status

What happened and why? After what seemed like a neverending court war, Uber has announced that its 70-thousand UK drivers will be given “workers” status (the year is 2021) which implies a minimum wage (£8.72 per hour), holiday pay and pension benefits. A turning point for the giant private hire company, and potentially transformative for the ‘Gig economy’. ⚖️ Summarising the legalese... After a 5 year court battle over the status of its drivers, the UK Supreme Court finally reached a decision in February, concluding that Uber’s drivers should be classified as “workers” and not “self-employed”. Despite not being bound to change everyone’s status, the ride-hailing business did so to avoid any further action from other drivers. Uber Eats drivers will remain “self-employed”. ✔️ The new employment package will include:National Minimum Wage or more for people aged 25 and over.Holiday time which is calculated as 12.07% of earnings.Pension plans with contributions from both drivers and Uber.Free sickness and injury insurance (active since 2018).Full flexibility for work days and times. While this Supreme court ruling applies specifically to Uber, the impact it could have on the wider ‘Gig economy’ could be transformative. That all depends on how the likes of driving rivals (Ola and Bolt) and other delivery companies (Stuart, Deliveroo) choose to align with the new decision and prevent any impending cases that cannot be far away. The private hire company also assured customers that their prices will not be increasing. The takeaway Not an industry standard… Competitors, such as Bolt and Ola, announced that the news is not affecting their business model as they won’t be changing their drivers’ status, suggesting that their chauffeurs are earning more anyway based on the company’s lower fees… for now, anyway. Experts outlined this moment as a milestone for the gig economy with hopes for more companies to be joining in and improving quality of employment