Uber and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5
In what was headline news, the Supreme Court has upheld a tribunal decision that Uber drivers are workers, meaning that they will be entitled to holiday pay, pension contributions and a whole host of other workers' rights. While Uber's contracts were drafted specifically to avoid worker status and the associated rights, this decision confirms that employers can't simply draft their way out of worker status as the determination of worker status is a matter of statutory rather than contractual interpretation.
The court paid particular attention to the purpose of the various worker related legislation, which was said to be designed to protect vulnerable workers who have little say over their pay and working conditions because they are in a dependent and subordinate position to their “employer”. The court found that the Uber drivers in question were clearly in a subordinate position to Uber due to the tight control exercised by Uber. Uber was found to: control the remuneration received by drivers; control the drivers' contractual terms; control the drivers' acceptances of passenger requests; control the way in which the drivers delivered their services; and control the communication between the drivers and their passengers.
It remains to be seen how the decision will impact Uber's operations as Uber are reported to have suggested that the decision only applies to a small number of drivers from 2016. But Paul Scully MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has stated that the Government will “make sure…that Uber complies with this judgment”.
What is clear is that worker rights are going to remain a hot topic so it's important to ensure your business is aware of any potential risk in this area and that freelancers are correctly categorised. While the contract terms will not be determinative, they do establish the framework of control, which, as can be seen from the Uber case, is likely to be key in determining worker status.
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