People working in the gig economy speak out after Uber drivers’ Supreme Court win

Thousands of people working in the gig economy are likely to be impacted by the Supreme Court’s ruling that Uber drivers should be classed as workers. 

The landmark judgment, passed down last Friday, upheld a ruling by the Court of Appeal and the Employment Tribunal stating that Uber drivers are entitled to workers’ rights.

Although the ruling directly relates to Uber drivers, it will have repercussions for others working in the gig economy who are also classed as ‘independent contractors’ and so are not entitled to basic rights usually given to workers such as holiday pay and the National Minimum wage. 

Michael Newman, a partner at Leigh Day, the law firm representing Addison Lee drivers and Stuart couriers in similar workers’ rights claims, said:

“Both Addison Lee and Stuart currently use contracts that class people working for them as ‘independent contractors’ which means they are not entitled to workers’ rights. 

The Uber judgment should be heeded as a warning to companies with a similar business model that they cannot continue to operate in this way.

“We hope the Supreme Court’s decision helps Addison Lee and Stuart to recognise that the people working for them should be given the basic rights such as holiday pay and the National Minimum wage.”

In the Uber judgment, Lord Leggatt said that courts should carefully scrutinise working arrangements to ensure that individuals are not denied those rights just because they are called ‘partners’ or ‘contractors’.

He explained that that the purpose of employment legislation is to protect “workers from being paid too little for the work they do, required to work excessive hours or subjected to other forms of unfair treatment.”

Martin Buckley, 26, who worked as courier in Gateshead for delivery company Stuart for three years, said:

“What made Stuart more appealing than other courier companies I’ve worked for was that they offered a minimum hourly guarantee which meant I had more security.

“But over the years, things got progressively worse. When I started you could book to work a certain zone and you wouldn’t be asked to work outside of that, but now they can send you miles away.

“You don’t get paid for how far you travel to the pickup location, so when you’re travelling around a city centre, you can end up losing money.

“In the end I stopped working for them because it was costing me so much and it wasn’t worth the stress. You go to work to make a living and you end up paying out more than you earn. It just doesn’t make sense.”

David Bollard, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, drove for Addison Lee in Sidcup for more than four years. He said: 

“There’s a revolving door of drivers which means they don’t really care about you as individuals because you’re easily replaced.

“When Covid hit it obviously had an impact on how much work drivers were given, but that didn’t stop Addison Lee increasing the deductions. 

“On top of this, during the first lockdown they deducted the cost of the congestion charge even though it had been suspended.

“The amount of money you can earn has definitely reduced, but that’s not the only issue. It’s also the way you’re treated.

“It’s not just the financial side, but also the recognition that the way they treat their workers isn’t right.”

Discover more employment claims by visiting www.leighday.co.uk/our-services/employment/