Uber back in court in crucial test case for UK gig economy
The decision on whether its drivers are workers will have far-reaching repercussions for a swathe of new-economy companies
London— Just months after Uber Technologies persuaded a London judge to allow it to keep operating in the city, the ride-hailing company is back in court. At stake this time is an issue that could strike at the core of the UK’s burgeoning gig economy: whether Uber’s drivers are really self-employed. Two days of hearings kick off at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday against the backdrop of what one trade union predicted would be the UK’s biggest-ever march of “precarious workers” — from Uber drivers and riders for food-delivery apps such as Deliveroo, to outsourced cleaners and restaurant workers. James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, the Uber drivers spearheading the London case, say they should be classed as the company’s “workers”, meaning they are entitled to the minimum wage and vacation pay — though they do not claim to be “employees”, a category that would give them even more rights, such as parental leave. The case could “have a big effect for everybody in the gig economy”, according t...
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