The decision could have huge ramifications for workers in the so-called gig economy.
Yui Mok / PA Wire/PA Images
Uber has lost a "landmark" case after an employment tribunal in the UK ruled that a group of drivers are not self-employed and are actually employed as workers, and are therefore entitled to rights including the national minimum wage and holiday pay.
The case relates to a group of 19 drivers but could have wide ramifications for the status of Uber's other 40,000 UK drivers, and workers in the wider "gig economy".
The solicitor who represented the drivers told BuzzFeed News the ruling meant Uber could face claims from other drivers.
Uber had argued that it is a technology company that connects drivers with customers rather than a taxi firm, and that drivers are self-employed partners who can set their own hours and are not required to work exclusively for the app.
The company said it would appeal the ruling.
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary / Via judiciary.gov.uk
Annie Powell, a lawyer in the employment team at Leigh Day who worked on the case on behalf of the workers, said the ruling was a "groundbreaking decision".
"It will impact not just on the thousands of Uber drivers working in this country, but on all workers in the so-called gig economy whose employers wrongly classify them as self-employed and deny them the rights to which they are entitled," she said.
Powell said the 19 drivers represented in the case would now be entitled to compensation stretching back two years for holiday pay and any instances where they had not been paid the minimum wage.
But she added the ruling would not automatically change the status of Uber’s other drivers. It could, however, make it harder for Uber to win future cases of its kind, she said.
The drivers’ claims were brought by the GMB union, and were heard in the London Central Tribunal in July 2016.
In a statement, Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK, said: “Tens of thousands of people in London drive with Uber precisely because they want to be self-employed and their own boss.
"The overwhelming majority of drivers who use the Uber app want to keep the freedom and flexibility of being able to drive when and where they want."
Uber told BuzzFeed News they don't expect the ruling will have any bearing on ongoing legal cases in the US.
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