Uber will make their 70,000 UK drivers ‘workers’ from TODAY

171

View
comments

Uber fares could rise after drivers in Britain claimed they were being ‘short changed’ and pledged to take their battle for workers’ rights back to court. 

From today more than 70,000 drivers will now to be treated as workers under UK employment law, after the ride-hailing giant lost a landmark Supreme Court case. 

The move, which follows lengthy legal action, means drivers will be guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions.

But campaigners say drivers should accrue the benefits from when they log in, not just from when a trip is accepted.

Former driver James Farrar, who spearheaded the battle that began six years ago to grant Uber drivers worker status, says the app giant still hasn’t gone far enough. 

Mr Farrar said there are still protections drivers do not have such as sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal, and said the next step was to go back to court to get Uber to meet its obligations.  

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I’m afraid that Uber is still short changing drivers for about 40-50 per cent of their working time.

‘The next step is for us to go back to court. It’s not meeting the legal minimum, so it’s enough for us. We’re not nearly there yet.’  

Mr Farrar added: ‘The point of law has been sorted out (by the Supreme Court), the next phase is how we settle this – what are you going to pay people? What’s the methodology for calculating minimum wage?

‘It’s the continuation of the existing claim.

‘The wheels of justice run slowly, but they run.

‘But there’s still protection we don’t have – sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal.’

Uber had previously argued that its drivers were self-employed.

But a Supreme Court ruling last month defined Uber drivers as workers, prompting lawyers to say it meant they would be entitled to workers’ rights such as holiday pay and compensation for lost pay. 

Uber, which was launched in the UK in 2012, said its drivers will now earn at least the National Living Wage.

On average, its drivers earn £17 per hour in London and £14 in the rest of the UK.

All drivers will be receive holiday time based on 12.07% of their earnings, which will be paid out on a fortnightly basis. 

They will also be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme. 

Mr Farrar told BBC Radio 4 Today: ‘Uber is required to measure a driver’s working time from log on to log off.

‘Uber made an announcement yesterday that said these entitlements will only accrue from the moment you accept a job until you drop the passenger off.

‘If we’re going to shift the burden of supply and demand onto workers, then what’s the next step? 

‘If I work for Starbucks I should not get paid between customers?  Or if I work for Marks&Spencer on a Monday when its quiet I should get paid less than when it’s busier on a Saturday?

‘These are basic rights, basic protections, it shouldn’t be this difficult for Uber to either understand or implement this. 

‘It has to pay for all of the time that workers are available. It’s Uber’s burden to match supply and demand.’  

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the ruling that Uber drivers in the UK should be guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions was to be ‘welcomed’. 

Speaking to Sky News, the Cabinet minister said today: ‘I’ve always said that the new phase of our economy should be about protecting workers’ rights, driving higher standards and driving new technologies.

‘And I think that the Government’s record on things like the national living wage that we introduced has been very good and we want to see a well paid workforce with strong worker protections, driving innovation and economic progress and I think that is something we can achieve.’ 

And Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, described it as ‘an important day’ for drivers in the UK. 

He added: ‘Uber drivers will receive an earnings guarantee, holiday pay and a pension, and will retain the flexibility they currently value.

‘Uber is just one part of a larger private-hire industry, so we hope that all other operators will join us in improving the quality of work for these important workers who are an essential part of our everyday lives.’ 

It comes a month after the Uber firm lost a legal battle in the UK, begun in 2016, over drivers’ status.

Drivers said they were workers whereas Uber operating companies said drivers were contractors, not workers.

The drivers have been told of their new rights.

Uber operating companies had appealed to the Supreme Court after losing three earlier rounds of the legal fight.

Employment tribunals and Court of Appeal judges had ruled against Uber – and Supreme Court judges unanimously dismissed Uber’s appeal. 

GMB, the union for Uber drivers, says the company has finally done the right thing.

Mick Rix, GMB national officer, said: ‘Uber had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing, but finally they’ve agreed to follow the ruling of the courts and treat their drivers as workers.’

He added: ‘GMB has consistently said we are willing to speak face to face to Uber about its treatment of drivers  – our door remains open.

‘Other gig economy companies should take note – this is the end of the road for bogus self employment.’

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said it would ‘check the small print of this offer’, which it feels is ‘a big step in the right direction’ from Uber.

She said that gig economy workers deserve to be treated with ‘dignity at work, and to be given the same basic rights as everybody else’.