Veezu drivers' claim
Leigh Day is acting for drivers engaged with Veezu who may be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation.
We believe Veezu drivers should be protected by the same employment laws that protect other workers in the UK. This includes being paid the National Minimum Wage and holiday pay. That’s why we’re asking Veezu drivers to join the claim and take legal action. If successful, drivers may be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation.
How will I be compensated if the claim is successful?
Based on similar cases, Veezu drivers are likely to be entitled to compensation worth up to thousands of pounds. The level of compensation will depend on your individual circumstances, such as the numbers of hours and length of time you’ve worked for Veezu.
We are claiming for:
- Back pay for unpaid holiday;
- Compensation if you received less than the National Minimum Wage; and
- Compensation for failure to provide a written statement setting out the particulars of your employment.
Your claim will be on a “no win, no fee” agreement. This means that you won’t pay anything if the claim is unsuccessful and you will pay nothing upfront.
Who can join the claim?
We are bringing claims for drivers who have worked for Veezu in the last 10 weeks.
It only takes a few minutes to check your eligibility and sign up – just click on the button below and enter your details.
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The Veezu drivers’ claim is about proving to the Employment Tribunal that Veezu drivers should be classed as workers, rather than independent contractors. There are several ways in which Veezu companies control the work done by the drivers, including:
- Assigning drivers a Veezu ID number;
- Allocating jobs to specific drivers for specific times (pre-booked slots);
- Fixing the job rate that drivers will receive;
- Deducting fees to access their app and driver portal;
- Penalising drivers for declining jobs, which can ultimately result in job termination.
Despite this control and the fact that drivers operate as part of Veezu’s business, Veezu companies do not afford them basic employment rights. We believe drivers should be protected by the same employment laws that protect other workers in the UK. This includes being paid the National Minimum Wage and holiday pay.
Our expert employment solicitors are bringing the claim to an Employment Tribunal on behalf of drivers who work for Veezu companies. If we are successful in the Employment Tribunal, the drivers will receive a declaration that they are workers, which grants them holiday pay and national minimum wage rights. The Tribunal will also order Veezu companies to provide compensation in the form of back pay to its drivers.
Please note that the Tribunal can only order that you are a worker and entitled to back pay if you are part of the legal claim.
This claim is about showing you are a worker for the purposes of your employment rights, and we are not disputing your tax status in bringing this claim. You can both be a worker in relation to your employment rights and self-employed for tax purposes.
As a worker, you have legal protection from Veezu companies acting to your detriment for claiming these rights. If Veezu try to remove or change the conditions of your work because of your worker status claim, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
We are acting under a “no win no fee” agreement, so you don’t have to pay anything unless you win your claim (as long as you stick to this agreement).
Impact of other cases on the Veezu drivers' claim
A number of employers have faced “worker” status cases in Tribunals and Courts over the last few years. Most notably in 2021, the UK Supreme Court heard a final appeal by Uber against an Employment Tribunal’s original decision that their drivers were workers, rather than independent contractors. The Supreme Court found in favour of the drivers and dismissed Uber’s appeal against the Tribunal’s original decision.
The Uber judgment does not directly impact upon the Veezu drivers' claims. However, our view is that if you succeed with the claim in an Employment Tribunal, the Uber Supreme Court decision makes it far less likely that Veezu companies will be able to successfully appeal an Employment Tribunal decision in your favour.
Join the claim
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.
Leigh Day are bringing claims on behalf of drivers engaged with Veezu companies, claiming they are workers. Veezu companies currently use contracts that attempt to classify drivers as self-employed independent contractors.
Veezu have acquired a number of partner taxi companies (“Veezu companies”) in recent years, including Dragon Taxis Ltd, Amber Cars Ltd, A2B Radio Cars, Go Carz, V Cars Ltd, Panther Taxis Ltd, A.B.C Taxis, City Taxis Holdings Ltd, Steel City Holdings Limited, Derby City Cars Ltd, Sn1 Cars, Aqua Cars and/or Diamond Cars.
All drivers for the various Veezu companies are engaged under the same written contractual terms – we are bringing claims for any eligible driver engaged for these Veezu companies.
If you are a Veezu driver, we believe that you are also a worker and should be entitled to claim back the following:
- Back pay for unpaid holiday pay for the whole period of your work with Veezu companies;
- Back pay for any shortfall between the pay you have received and the National Minimum Wage;
- 28 days of paid annual leave if you still work for a Veezu company (pro rota equivalent if you work less than 5 days a week);
- National Minimum Wage rights if you still work for a Veezu company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on similar cases, Veezu drivers are likely to be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation. The level of compensation will depend on your individual circumstances, such as the numbers of hours and length of time you’ve worked for Veezu.
We are claiming:
- Back pay for unpaid holiday;
- Compensation if you received less than the National Minimum Wage; and
- Compensation for failure to provide a written statement setting out the particulars of your employment.
We will calculate your compensation using documents such as your weekly payment statements, tax returns/accounts, bank statements and receipts.
If your claim is successful, we will deduct 25% plus VAT from your compensation for our legal fees. The funding documents sent to you will provide a full explanation as to how the claim is funded.
If you lose, you should not have to pay Veezu’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.
We are bringing claims for drivers who have worked from Veezu in the last 10 weeks.
If you have not driven for Veezu in the last 10 weeks, please register your details on the sign-up page as you may be able to join the claim in the future.
We are aware that Veezu own a number of partner taxi companies (for example, Dragon Taxis, ABC, Panther). Our website form lists the various partner taxi companies known to be owned by Veezu. Please select which Veezu partner taxi company you work for when registering your details on our website form.
Claims will be presented against both Veezu and the relevant partner taxi company.
You can join the claim if you have driven for Veezu companies in the last 10 weeks.
If your account has previously been deactivated or if you took a break from working as a driver, this may impact upon the amount of compensation you are entitled to. We will calculate your compensation based upon your individual circumstances.
A number of employers have faced “worker” status cases in Tribunals and Courts over the last few years.
Most notably in 2021, the UK Supreme Court heard a final appeal by Uber against an Employment Tribunal’s original decision that their drivers were workers, rather than independent contractors. The Supreme Court found in favour of the drivers and dismissed Uber’s appeal against the Tribunal’s original decision.
The Uber judgment does not directly impact upon the Veezu claims. However, our view is that if you succeed with the claim in an Employment Tribunal, the Uber Supreme Court decision makes it far less likely that Veezu will be able to successfully appeal an Employment Tribunal decision in your favour.
Whilst given the similarities in how Uber and Veezu drivers work, we believe that Veezu drivers also have a strong claim that they should be classified as workers and receive holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.
We cannot predict how Veezu will respond to the claim. However, drivers have legal protection from Veezu acting to your detriment if you bring a claim.
If Veezu did deactivate your account or remove your work in response to joining the claim, we can bring an additional claim on your behalf arguing that Veezu should pay you compensation for removing your work. We believe that there would be a good case for arguing that the deactivation of your account was unlawful, which would entitle you to additional compensation for your losses.
No. This claim is about your employment rights, in particular your right to receive holiday pay and national minimum wage. You can be both a worker with employment rights and self-employed for tax purposes.
We are not challenging the fact that you are self-employed for tax purposes. We recognise that many drivers may prefer to remain self-employed.
Our claim is that you are a worker based on your current working arrangements, and to make sure that Veezu recognise that you are a worker and pay you holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.
You do not need to have a fixed working pattern or a set number of working hours to succeed with a claim for worker status.
No, you do not need to provide any documents to find out if you are eligible to join the claim.
In order to calculate the compensation that Veezu owes you, we will of course request documents from you to assist us with this. We will only request documents that you have in your possession. An example of documents that will be helpful for us in calculating your compensation are your weekly payment statements received by email from Veezu.
When we require documents from you, we will be in touch with further information.
To find out if you’re eligible or to start your Veezu claim, get in touch with our expert employment lawyers.
- Fill out our online form
- Call us on 020 7650 1298
- Email the team at veezu@leighday.co.uk