Uber drivers in the UK are to get a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions. More than 70,000 drivers, who are now to be treated as workers under UK employment law, will be in line for the benefits – which are set to take effect from Wednesday. Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, described it as “an important day” for drivers in the UK, while trade unions bosses said “Uber had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing” after a long-running legal battle. It comes a month after the Uber firm lost a legal battle in the UK, begun in 2016, over drivers’ status.
The world-first decision was praised by Mr Gallois on Twitter as another success of Brexit.
He wrote: Another UK success of Brexit. Definitely those who were talking about an ultra-liberal Brexit should swallow their hats.
Brexit latest: Frexit leader Gallois praises UK Uber ruling (Image: CHARLES-HENRI GALLOIS)
Charles-Henri Gallois says Uber workers decision is a Brexit success (Image: CHARLES-HENRI GALLOIS)
On the minimum wage, which stands at £8.72 per hour for those aged 25 and over, Uber said it would apply after accepting a trip request and after expenses and that on average drivers earn an hourly 17 pounds in London.
Drivers will not receive it while waiting for a passenger request, which can account for as much as a third of the time drivers are behind the wheel with the app turned on, according to several US studies.
Uber under pressure on UK minimum wage in test of gig economy
By Costas Pitas
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Uber drivers in Britain should receive the minimum wage for the whole time they are logged on to the app, two former drivers said on Wednesday after winning a court battle which could reshape the gig economy.
Following a UK Supreme Court defeat last month, the Silicon Valley-based company reclassified its more than 70,000 drivers in Britain as workers, meaning they are guaranteed entitlements such as holiday pay.
On the minimum wage, which stands at 8.72 pounds ($12.13) per hour for those aged 25 and over, Uber said it would apply after accepting a trip request and after expenses and that on average drivers earn an hourly 17 pounds in London.
A decision by Uber to give its drivers a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions “opens the door” for other workers in the gig economy to get better pay and conditions, unions have said.
The ride-hailing giant announced that, from Wednesday, more than 70,000 drivers will now to be treated as workers under UK employment law.
The move, following lengthy legal action, was welcomed by unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers in the growing gig economy.
Mick Rix, national officer of the GMB union, told the PA news agency: “Uber’s announcement should mark the end of the road for bogus self-employment.
Uber Technologies Inc. will reclassify all 70,000 of its U.K. drivers as workers, entitling them to the minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits after a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court last month.
The ride-hailing app’s drivers will receive at least the national living wage of 8.72 pounds ($12.11) per hour starting Wednesday. This will be the minimum drivers can earn, in what Uber described as an “earnings floor, not an earnings ceiling.”
The U.K. will be the first country in the world where Uber will have this business model. The firm didn’t specify how much the reclassification will cost, but said it doesn’t expect to change its earnings forecast for the quarter or the year. Uber shares declined less than 1% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.