LONDON. The US platform Uber Technologies will recognize all its drivers in the UK, around 70,000 people, as “employees” as of Wednesday, instead of considering them self-employed, in accordance with the UK Supreme Court ruling, so they will be entitled to collect the minimum wage. as well as paid holidays and, if they meet the requirements, a pension. In a statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the multinational announced that, as of March 17, private drivers using its Mobility platform in the UK “will be treated as workers”, specifying that workers they are not employed under UK labor law, so they remain self-employed for tax purposes. The company indicated that 99% of UK drivers earn more than the minimum wage, with an average after-spending income of around £ 17 per hour in London and £ 14 per hour in the rest of the UK.
Uber has announced that all UK drivers will be paid holidays based on 12.07% of their earnings, paid every two weeks. In addition, eligible drivers in the UK will automatically be enrolled in a pension scheme with contributions from Uber representing approximately 3% of a driver’s earnings. On February 19, the UK Supreme Court “unanimously” dismissed Uber’s appeal on the worker status of its drivers, thus definitively ratifying the positions of the British courts, first in 2016 and then by the Court of Appeal in 2018. In its decision, the UK Supreme Court found that there was no factual basis for Uber London to act as an agent for the drivers, but that the platform contracts with passengers and then hands assignments to drivers. In this regard, he pointed out that when a trip is booked through the Uber app, it is the company that sets the fare and the drivers cannot charge more than the fare calculated by the app. So it is Uber that determines how much the drivers are paid for the work they do, as well as being the company that enforces the terms of the contract under which the drivers perform their services without the drivers having a say.
The ruling also pointed out that Uber exerts significant control over how drivers deliver their services, including the use of a rating system where passengers are asked to rate the driver. Thus, the High Court concluded that the transport service performed by the drivers and offered to passengers through the app is strictly defined and controlled by Uber and the drivers are in a position “of subordination and dependence” in relation to the company, adding that, in practice, the only way they can increase their income is to work more hours and consistently meet Uber’s performance metrics.