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Bolt drivers claim

We strongly believe that drivers should be classed as workers, rather than self-employed contractors, and will fight your corner throughout the legal battle to help make this a reality

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Join the Bolt drivers claim

Bolt drivers' claim

Leigh Day is acting for Bolt drivers who may be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation.

In November 2024, the Bolt drivers we represent won the first stage of their claim in the Employment Tribunal. The Employment Tribunal decided that Bolt drivers are “workers”. This means the successful Claimants are, and always have been, entitled to certain protections and benefits, including holiday pay and the right to be paid the National Minimum Wage. The next stage will be to decide how to compensate the successful Claimants for not being paid these.

The judgment in the Bolt Drivers’ Claim only applies to successful Claimants.

Join the Bolt drivers claim

How do I join the claim?

If you have driven for Bolt in the last 10 weeks in England, Scotland or Wales, you may be eligible to join the claim.

It only takes a few minutes to check your eligibility and sign up – just click on the button below and enter your details.

 

I am ready to sign up

If I win my claim against Bolt, how will I be compensated? 

We estimate that Bolt drivers may be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation. We are claiming compensation for:

  • Unpaid holiday (going back to when you first started driving for Bolt)
  • Shortfalls to the National Minimum Wage

Your claim will be on a “no win, no fee” agreement. This means that you will not be left worrying about how you’ll pay for the claim. You will pay nothing upfront.

If your claim is successful and you are entitled receive compensation, you’ll know in advance exactly how much we need to deduct (25% plus VAT of the compensation figure). The rest will be yours to keep

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Step by step guide to the Bolt drivers’ claim

Bolt drivers currently work under contracts which seek to classify them as self-employed independent contractors. Self-employed independent contractors are not entitled to receive paid holiday or the National Minimum Wage.

We are arguing that due to the way in which Bolt drivers work in practice, they should be classed as workers, rather than self-employed independent contractors.

Workers have the right to receive the National Minimum Wage and paid holiday. We are bringing claims on behalf of Bolt drivers to ensure they can access these benefits and protections.

We previously represented thousands of drivers in a similar worker status claim against Uber. In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers were workers, and were therefore entitled to receive holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.

Given the similarities in how Uber and Bolt drivers work, we believe there is a strong case that Bolt drivers should also be classified as workers and receive compensation for unpaid holiday and shortfalls between their pay and the National Minimum Wage.

We understand that you may have some questions about the process.

To make the whole process easier, we have set up a dedicated area for Bolt drivers to find out more information about the claim and to sign-up. We’ve also created some helpful resources to help you understand the Bolt drivers’ claim:

  • You can check out our FAQs page for answers to the most common questions about the claim; a great place to get answers quickly.
  • We do not act for big corporations; we act for individuals. Want to know who we are? Read our About Us

If you can’t find what you want on the website, a member of our team will be happy to talk you through the process. Email Bolt@leighday.co.uk or call 020 3780 0250.

Anyone who has driven for Bolt in England, Scotland or Wales within the last 10 weeks may be eligible to join the claim.

To start your claim, you simply need to:

  • Provide basic personal and eligibility details; and
  • Agree to the terms and conditions.

You can do so via our secure online form, or you can speak to one of our friendly team members by phone.

How much will it cost to sign-up?

The claim is ‘no win, no fee’ meaning that you pay nothing upfront or if your claim is unsuccessful, as long as you abide by the terms and conditions.

If you succeed in your claim, our fee will be a percentage of your compensation (25% plus VAT).

After we have assessed your eligibility and you have agreed to our ‘no win no fee’ agreement, you will be part of the claim; it is that simple!

Once you have signed up to the claim and agreed our terms, that’s when we (Leigh Day) get to work.

  1. You will receive a confirmation email from us letting you know that you have successfully signed up to the claim.
  2. We will notify ACAS of your intention to start proceedings and then submit your claim to the Employment Tribunal.
  3. Once your claim has been submitted to ACAS, you will receive periodical updates from Leigh Day, so that you are kept informed every step of the way. Our communications will include:
  • requests for further information to support your claim;
  • regular claim updates; and
  • news on any major developments affecting your claims.

Important to note: An employment claim has several stages to work through so it can take a long time, years in many cases, to conclude. Where possible, we will be claiming for losses incurred during the entire time that you have driven for Bolt. The amount of compensation owed to you will therefore continue to increase as the claim progresses, as long as you are still a driver for Bolt. We will also be claiming for compensation where Bolt has paid you less than the National Minimum Wage.  

If your claim is successful, you will receive a sum of compensation. Find out more about this in our FAQs section. From that, you’ll need to pay the agreed fee of 25% (plus VAT) for the services we have provided.

If your claim is not successful, you will not need to pay anything under our ‘no win no fee’ agreement, provided you keep to the terms of the agreement.

Employment law specialists

Leigh Day is a leading employment and discrimination law firm. We have won worker's rights for Uber drivers, compensation for Deliveroo riders and are currently acting for Addison Lee drivers and and BCA drivers.

We do not act for big corporations; we act for individuals. Our aim is to ensure that Bolt drivers receive the rights they deserve. That is why we are encouraging all Bolt drivers to join the claim and help fight for basic worker protections and benefits – such as receiving holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage. 

Why choose Leigh Day?

Experienced claimant lawyers

At Leigh Day, we don’t act for big corporations – we act for individuals. Our employment and discrimination lawyers have plenty of experience bringing group claims against major corporations, including Uber and ASDA. In these claims, we acted for groups of clients numbering from 15 to 50,000 in size.

Specialist legal teams

The experience we have built up over more than 30 years of holding corporations to account is unrivalled. This means you can rest assured our expert team knows the best way to represent you and your group claim.

Successful track record

We are leading employment and discrimination lawyers, and are top-ranked by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.

What is the claim about?

Bolt drivers currently work under contracts which seek to classify them as self-employed independent contractors. Self-employed independent contractors are not entitled to receive paid holiday or the National Minimum Wage.

In November 2024, the Bolt drivers we represent won the first stage of their claim in the Employment Tribunal. The Employment Tribunal decided that Bolt drivers are “workers”. This means the successful Claimants are (and always have been) entitled to certain protections and benefits, including holiday pay and the right to be paid the National Minimum Wage. The next stage will be to decide how to compensate the successful Claimants for not being paid these. This will be done at a “remedy hearing”. At this hearing, the method for calculating the compensation owed to each driver will be decided.

We will be arguing that the successful Claimants should be paid backdated holiday pay and any shortfalls of the National Minimum Wage for the whole time they have worked for Bolt. However, exactly how compensation is calculated will be decided by the Tribunal at the remedy hearing. Very broadly speaking the level of compensation usually correlates with how many hours a driver has worked for Bolt.

 

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND JOIN THE CLAIM 

Anyone who has driven for Bolt in England, Scotland or Wales within the last 10 weeks may be eligible to join the claim.

Joining the claim is straightforward and only takes a few minutes. You don’t need to provide any documents to find out if you can join the claim.

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND JOIN THE CLAIM 

Drivers who won at the Employment Tribunal will receive compensation for past unpaid holiday pay and shortfalls to the National Minimum Wage.

 

Holiday Pay – we will be claiming unpaid holiday pay for drivers. These claims are usually worth around 12% of your basic earnings with Bolt.

National Minimum Wage – we will be claiming compensation for periods where Bolt has paid drivers less than the National Minimum Wage, taking into account any work-related expenses such as petrol incurred by drivers.

Based on what we know about hours worked and expenses, we think that the average Bolt driver will be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation, however this will be dependent on each individual driver’s circumstances, for example how long a driver has worked for Bolt and how many hours they have worked per week, so some drivers will receive less than this (and some more). We do not currently know exactly how much each individual driver is entitled to, as this is something that will be determined at next stage of the claim (the remedy hearing).

The only way to guarantee being paid this compensation is by bringing a successful claim in the Employment Tribunal.

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND JOIN THE CLAIM 

Our sign-up process is as straightforward and transparent as possible. It only takes a few minutes to find out if you are eligible to join the Bolt claim.

We don't need you to provide any additional documents, such as tax returns, to check your eligibility. The full terms for joining the claim are set out in our Damages Based Agreement – which you can review after checking your eligibility.

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND JOIN THE CLAIM 

We treat all personal data in accordance with our privacy policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Drivers who won at the Employment Tribunal will receive compensation for past unpaid holiday pay and shortfalls to the National Minimum Wage.

The only way to guarantee being paid this compensation is by bringing a successful claim in the Employment Tribunal.

We will calculate your compensation using data from Bolt, as well as your financial documents such as your tax returns/accounts, bank statements and receipts

If you are successful in your claim, we will deduct 25% plus VAT from your compensation for our legal fee

If you lose, you should not have to pay Bolt’s legal fees, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as if you behave in a vexatious, abusive, disruptive or otherwise unreasonable manner, or ignore an order of the Tribunal.

Yes, you can still join the claim if you have driven for Bolt in the last 10 weeks in England, Scotland or Wales.

Bolt should not penalise its drivers for bringing a legal claim.

As a worker, you have legal protection from Bolt treating you differently for claiming these rights. If Bolt deactivated your account or changed the conditions of your work because of your legal claim, you may be entitled to additional compensation.

If you join the Bolt drivers’ claim and then stop driving for Bolt, or if Bolt deactivates your account, you should update our team via email  (Bolt@leighday.co.uk) let us know the date you last drove for Bolt.

Leaving Bolt will not affect your ability to continue with your claim.

We see no reason as to why you should have less flexibility as a worker, rather than a self-employed independent contractor.

Bolt simply needs to ensure it allows drivers to take time off and to pay them for this, in the same way that any worker is entitled to paid holiday. Bolt also needs to make sure that the rate it pays its drivers is high enough that they receive at least the National Minimum Wage, once you take into account the amounts they have to spend on expenses, like petrol.

The amount of holiday entitlement is relatively easy to calculate, even for workers who don’t work fixed hours. The claim is simply to make sure that Bolt pays you holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.

You would not need to have a fixed working pattern or a set number of working hours in order for Bolt to calculate your holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.

No, you do not need to provide any documents to join the claim.

Once you join the claim, we will contact you with further information. During the course of the claim, we may ask you to provide documents to support your claim, such as documents which may assist us in calculating your compensation. We will contact you if we need anything from you.

Leigh Day represented thousands of drivers in a worker status claim against Uber.

In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers were workers, rather than self-employed independent contractors. Uber drivers are now entitled to receive holiday pay, the National Minimum Wage and other benefits from Uber.

The Supreme Court judgment was a very helpful precedent and it helped us to bring the successful claims against Bolt.

As with the Uber Supreme Court judgement, the judgment in the Bolt Drivers’ Claim only applies to successful claimants

Join the Bolt drivers claim

To find out if you’re eligible or to start your Bolt claim, get in touch with our expert employment lawyers.