Photo: Michael Faas/Fortune
Uber grants UK drivers minimum wage and benefits
17 March 2021
by Christopher Carey
Uber is reclassifying all 70,000 of its UK drivers as ‘workers’ following a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month.
From today, drivers will be entitled to key workplace benefits including a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions.
The ride-hailer said it had decided not to contest last month’s judgement, which it had initially insisted legally applied to only a few dozen drivers.
Writing in the Evening Standard, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the decision shows the firm’s “willingness to change”.
“Following last month’s UK Supreme Court ruling, we could have continued to dispute drivers’ rights to any of these protections in court. Instead, we have decided to turn the page.
“We have been calling for updates to legal frameworks, both in the US and the EU, that would guarantee benefits and protection for independent workers without removing the flexibility that makes this type of work so attractive to them in the first place.”
Uber’s decision means that drivers cannot earn less than the National Living Wage – currently £8.72 (US$12.12) an hour but going up to £8.91 next month – once they have accepted a ride request. The firm claims in practice, drivers in London currently earn on average around £17 an hour.
Drivers will also automatically get a holiday pay top-up of 12.07 percent of their earnings every fortnight, equivalent to 28 days of paid holiday a year, which is the legal minimum entitlement for workers.
Khosrowshahi said: “The Covid pandemic has forced us all to reconsider things we previously believed to be true. The post-pandemic economy will be different than what came before. It is my strong view that apps like Uber will help power the collective recovery. While we are at it, we should work together to improve the status quo of independent work around the world.”
Cautious welcome
Responding to the announcement, the lead claimants in the case, James Farrar & Yaseen Aslam of the App Drivers & Couriers Union, said: “While we welcome Uber’s decision to finally commit to paying minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions we observe that they have arrived to the table with this offer a day late and a dollar short, literally.
“The Supreme Court ruled that drivers are to be recognised as workers with entitlements to the minimum wage and holiday pay to accrue on working time from log on to log off, whereas Uber is committing only to these entitlements to accrue from time of trip acceptance to drop off.
“This means that Uber drivers will be still short-changed to the tune of 40-50 percent. Also, it is not acceptable for Uber to unilaterally decide the driver expense base in calculating minimum wage. This must be subject to collective agreement.”
While acknowledging that progress has been made, the union also called on Uber to initiate a fair dismissals appeals process and a data access agreement, along with recognising trade unions.
The changes also do not apply to couriers in Uber’s food delivery business, Uber Eats, who remain self-employed.
Image: Michael Faas/Fortune (Flickr)
