Search

How can we help?

Icon

Will Uber work in the area again?

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has today upheld the ET decision that when the Uber drivers were in the work area, available for work and with Uber app switched on, they were workers with rights to national minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay.

Today’s decision is not a surprise, given the employment tribunal findings that the actual working arrangements were inconsistent with the written contracts and inconsistent with the drivers being in business on their own account. It is also in keeping with the general trend of recent cases on employment status and government positioning.

Uber’s challenge to the ET finding that it was not acting as agent between the drivers and passengers also failed. The EAT found that during gaps when the drivers did not have the app switched on, they were not workers for Uber but that this was not “fatal to their status as ‘workers’ when they did”.

Uber also argued that the arrangements suggesting worker status were only in place because the regulatory framework for private hire licensing required it. The EAT rejected this because the framework did not require Uber to carry out the “interview and induction process (onboarding) it chose to operate”.

Uber’s challenge to the ET finding that it was not acting as agent between the drivers and passengers also failed.

Uber is expected to appeal again to the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court because of the scale of their prospective liability to their 40,000 plus drivers.

Contrary to Uber’s public statement statements, worker status is flexible for the business engaging the services because there is no ongoing obligation to provide work. Today’s decision does not extend full employee status, which would confer entitlement to redundancy payments or to claim unfair dismissal to those with 2 years’ continuous employment. That is likely to be the next frontier for test cases.

About this article

Disclaimer
This information is for guidance purposes only and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice. Please refer to the full General Notices on our websit

About this article

Read, listen and watch our latest insights

Pub
  • 07 February 2025
  • Corporate and M&A

Talk & Golf : Thinking of Exiting your Business?

Join Stuart Mullins, Partner at Clarkslegal, and Nicky Goringe Larkin, Managing Director at Succession Planning, for a morning breakfast talk on preparing your business for exit, followed by a round of golf at the Eyston Course at Caversham Golf Club.

art
  • 06 February 2025
  • Privacy and Data Protection

Cookies and Consent: the ICO’s Cookie Review

In the digital age, cookies play a crucial role in how websites operate and interact with users.

art
  • 05 February 2025
  • Corporate and M&A

Growing Pains for Businesses

This thought piece considers some of the key issues and pain points facing a business planning to scale up

art
  • 03 February 2025
  • Employment

Indirect discrimination: How mandated office returns could discriminate against working mothers

In this article though, we will focus on one of the biggest potential hurdles, and the one that is garnering the most media attention and the most criticism. Is a return to work policy discriminatory on grounds of sex?

art
  • 24 January 2025
  • Privacy and Data Protection

UK Data Protection: A look back at 2024 and what to expect in 2025

On 15 January 2025, Louise Keenan and Shauna Jones hosted our webinar “UK Data Protection: what happened in 2024 and what’s in store for 2025.” Our webinar is available for you to watch, but in this article, we will provide a brief summary of what was discussed.

art
  • 22 January 2025
  • Corporate and M&A

Deal Announcement: Clarkslegal’s Corporate team advise founder on exit from Bristol based hospitality business

Clarkslegal is pleased to have advised the exiting shareholder and director of a hospitality business in the South West on the sale of their shareholding and termination of their employment.