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Interview: Uber driver Yaseen Aslam on his Supreme Court battle and what’s next for gig workers
Private hire driver and union organiser Yaseen Aslam speaks to Computer Weekly about his legal battle with Uber and what the UK Supreme Court ruling means to workers in the gig economy
Share this item with your network: By Published: 12 Mar 2021
This includes the right to be paid the national minimum wage, to receive statutory minimum holiday pay and rest breaks, as well as protection from unlawful discrimination and whistleblowing.
Before the ruling, Uber classified its drivers as self-employed, independent workers on the basis that its app merely connects drivers with potential customers – a position the company has maintained throughout four years of legal proceedings and appeals that took the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Uber drivers in SA: employees or independent contractors? it-online.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from it-online.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Background
In 2016 various drivers brought claims against Uber for the national minimum wage, holiday pay and detrimental treatment for whistleblowing. To succeed, the drivers had to be workers for the purposes of the relevant legislation rather than independent contractors.
While there are (confusingly) slightly different worker tests in different statutes, for present purposes a worker is either:
an employee (ie, employed under a contract of employment); or
someone who works under a contract through which they undertake to perform work personally for someone who is not by virtue of that contract their client or customer.
In other words, workers agree to work personally and are not running their own business.
Uber drivers in South Africa: employees or independent contractors?
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Uber drivers are currently classified as independent contractors in South Africa, but there are plans to launch a class action to compel Uber SA to confer several key rights on its drivers, which, if successful, will affect the rights of platform workers
Uber drivers in South Africa: Employees or independent contractors? techcentral.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from techcentral.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.