Uber Loses Bid in the UK

U.S. ride hailing service Uber lost on Friday as it bid to overturn a decision made by the tribunal as it also tries to find a way to let it keep its license in London.

The tribunal said that Uber’s drivers deserved workers’ rights such as the minimum wage. This served as a huge blow to the company seeing as it is struggling to win back its license in UK’s largest city.

Uber was fast to act and announced that it will be appealing to higher courts against the decision made by the Employment appeal Tribunal in Central London on Friday.

This is not the first regulatory and legal setbacks that were faced by the taxi app. There have been setbacks from around the world within disapproval from traditional taxi services and unease among some regulators. It has been forced to withdraw from other countries, like with Denmark and Hungary.

Two drivers had successfully disputed during a British employment tribunal which occurred last year that Uber had enough control over them to provide on-demand taxi service and should then grant them workers’ rights, holiday entitlement and rest break for example.

 The decision was seen as something is bound to prompt more claims though it did not automatically encompass the app’s 50,000 drivers in Britain.

In a positive view, it was assumed to be beneficial to workers at thousands of companies including those in the “gig economy”, where people work for multiple employers without any contract, such as the courier Deliveroo.

The workers that filed the complaint were backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and said that the companies were the ones who decided to “deprive” the workers of their rights.

“Today’s victory is further proof, as if any more was needed, that the law is clear and these companies are simply choosing to deprive workers of their rights,” stated Jason Moyer-Lee, IWGB’s general secretary.

Uber argued that their drivers revel in the flexibility of their work and are self-employed, which entitles them, in British law, to only basic entitlements like health and safety.

The company said in September that its drivers function the same way as minicabs or private hire vehicles, which existed in Britain since more than 50 years ago.

Uber UK’s Acting General Manager Tom Elvidge released a statement which said, “Over the last year we have made a number of changes to our app to give drivers even more control.”

“The main reason why drivers use Uber is because they value the freedom to choose if, when and where they drive.” Elvidge added.

Uber confirmed on Friday that it will appeal against the latest decision, and was given a timeframe of 14 days to submit its application and make a decision on whether it will apply to take the case to the Supreme Court which is Britain’s top judicial body.

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