Uber Grants Vacation Pay, Pensions to U.K. Drivers in Change of Job Status
Uber will classify around 70,000 drivers in the UK as workers and give them some benefits after losing an appeal at the Supreme Court level in February, following a years-long legal battle over their employment status.
Drivers will still not be considered full-time employees, but they will receive a minimum wage, holiday time, and will be enrolled in a pension plan starting on March 17th.
The company said Tuesday that as “workers”; a classification unique to employment law in the UK that falls short of “employee”; drivers will be entitled to minimum wage, vacation time, and a pension. Uber did not apply the changes to its Uber Eats food delivery workers, only ride-hail drivers.
Uber said the minimum wage will be based on engaged time after a trip is accepted and after expenses; a definition that could be the subject of scrutiny.
The court determined last month; that drivers are working from the time they turn on Uber’s app, rather than only when transporting passengers as the company has argued.
Earlier this year, Uber lost a major legal battle in the U.K. around this issue. The country’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling that a group of drivers was workers, not independent contractors. While the decision applied to a small group of drivers, thousands more have taken action against the company.
In an op-ed in The Evening Standard; Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote that following the Supreme Court ruling, “we could have continued to dispute drivers’ rights to any of these protections in court. Instead, we have decided to turn the page.”
“I know many observers won’t pat us on the back for taking this step; which comes after a five-year legal battle,” Khosrowshahi said. “They have a point, though I hope the path that we chose shows our willingness to change.”
