Uber announced on Tuesday (16) that it would Providing labor rights to all of the more than 70,000 registered drivers in the UK. The ruling comes after the tech giants lost the battle in the British Supreme Court in February.
This Wednesday (17th), as Drivers will be entitled to minimum wages and paid holidays, something unprecedented for the company in the world.
In February, Uber said the court ruling would not apply to all current drivers in Britain, but it changed its status.
“It follows a recent decision by the UK Supreme Court, which provides a clear path to a model that allows drivers to continue to work flexibly,” Uber said on Tuesday.
How was a lawsuit filed against Uber in Britain?
In a lawsuit filed by two drivers, a London labor court ruled in 2016 that the company had significant control over them and therefore should not be considered self-employed.
The company appealed and in 2018 the court confirmed the labor bond between Uber and drivers in the UK.
In an appeal decision in February 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict and ruled that a group of drivers are entitled to minimum wages such as labor benefits.
Will the drivers be workers or workers?
The British Supreme Court has ruled that drivers can be considered “workers” and therefore receive related social benefits.
British law distinguishes the status of “workers”, who can receive minimum wages and other benefits, in the strict sense from the status of “workers” who have a proper employment contract.
What will the drivers get?
Uber drivers in the UK will receive at least the minimum wage, will be entitled to paid holidays and a pension scheme to which the company will contribute.
According to information from the France Press, the minimum wage in Britain is £ 8.72 ($ 12.12) per hour and is expected to be £ 8.91 in April.
An Uber driver earns an average of 17 hours per hour in London and £ 14 an hour in the rest of the country.
Are similar processes elsewhere?
Uber faces similar processes in the United States and even Brazil.
See the full, Uber status on processes in Brazil:
“In recent years, various examples of labor justice have been building solid jurisprudence confirming the fact that there is no employment relationship between Uber and partner drivers, indicating cost, habitability, personality and inability to subjugate. , Which will configure the link. Employment.
Across the country, there are already more than 800 judgments from regional courts and labor courts in this regard, and there is no consolidated decision determining the registration of a partner driver as an Uber employee.
Partner drivers are not employed or do not provide services to Uber: they are independent professionals who hire digital arbitration technology introduced by the company through the application.
Drivers freely choose the days and times of use of the application, whether they accept the trips or not and even after that, there is a possibility of cancellation.
No goals are to be met, there is no minimum number of trips, no boss to supervise the service, there is no obligation of exclusivity in hiring the company and no determination of compliance with minimum hours.
Last 2/3 days, for the third time, TST confirmed that there was no employment link between Uber and its fellow drivers. Unanimously, the fourth panel of the Court rejected the appeal of an independent driver, who tried to overturn the TRT-MG decision who had not already recognized the employment request.
In relation to this process, Minister Ives Gandra considered that partner drivers using the Uber platform to generate income have autonomy and flexibility, with requirements inconsistent with the link, as to the day, time, and driver to choose from. There is sufficient autonomy. The form of the task, to be able to close the application at any time and for as long as necessary, without any link to the goals set by Uber “.
A similar understanding has also been adopted in two other TST trials in February and September in 2020, and by the Superior Court of Justice in the 2019 trial. “
