Uber To Now Consider Drivers As Workers After Losing Labor Battle In The U.K

Uber lost its labor battle against drivers in the Supreme Court in the U.K. What losing means is that henceforth, Uber is to consider all drivers as employees. 

For a long time, Uber has insisted that its drivers were contract workers and not employees, denying them employee benefits like minimum wage, paid leaves, insurance, and possibly pension.  The company which recorded a decline of 73% in ride bookings last year, leading to a loss of $6.8 billion throughout the lockdown, has been focused on ways to maximize profits.

Uber has a workforce of over 70,000 drivers in the UK, and providing them with all the benefits of workers will interrupt the company's plan to keep expenses low. The company has already insisted on not being classified as a transport provider, allowing them to avoid paying the 20% compulsory tax on fares.

After two Uber drivers, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam took the company to an employment tribunal, demanding to be acknowledged as workers, Uber claimed it only served as an intermediary and wasn't a transport company. However, this appeal statement was dismissed by the court after considering the powers Uber held over the drivers. Uber, as a company sets the terms of service, penalizes drivers if ratings aren't satisfactory, and even controls how many rides a driver can take. 

Beginning on the 17th, drivers are now guaranteed minimum wage(which is approximately $12 an hour), paid leaves, and pension. They also get a 12% increase in pay for every hour of work put in during their holidays.

While there is still more to be done, this is a major win for drivers as it gives them a level of protection.

With a net worth of about $100 billion and 93 million active users spread across 63 countries, Uber is the largest ride-hailing company in the world. It works by linking drivers with riders who book trips on the app. After a rider submits a trip, the app matches them to the closest driver. The driver's details, including their name, photo, ratings, phone number, and license plate numbers become visible when the driver accepts the trip. 

There are usually more drivers available than riders, which leaves a lot of drivers idle for long. Before now, the drivers only got paid when they're logged on and have accepted a ride, now they get paid for even the time spent waiting until they're booked for one.