A driver uses the Uber app to drop off a passenger in London.
Chris J. Ratcliffe | Bloomberg via Getty Images
LONDON – Uber lost a major legal battle in the UK on Friday as the country’s Supreme Court upheld the ruling that its managers should be classified as workers rather than independent contractors.
The Supreme Court unanimously voted to dismiss Uber’s appeal against the ruling.
The ruling closes a nearly five-year legal battle between Uber and a group of former executives who claim to have workers entitled to work rights, such as a minimum wage, holiday pay and rest breaks.
In 2016, a labor tribunal ruled in favor of a group of former Uber executives, led by Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, who claim that they are workers employed by Uber and therefore entitled to certain labor protections.
Uber insists that drivers are independent and that it is more of an “agency” that connects them to passengers through an app. Uber wants to keep the legal classification of its drivers as independent contractors unchanged, arguing that drivers prefer this “gig” model as it is more flexible. It also benefits Uber from a cost perspective.
The UK case reflects Uber’s legal battle with California regulators, which last year sought to reclassify Uber drivers and other ride-sharing services such as Lyft as employees to give them more service protection.
But voters support a ballot measure called Proposition 22, which exempts Uber and other gig-economy platforms from reclassifying executives as employees.
The Supreme Court ruling puts Uber’s business model in the UK at risk. The company will now have to go to the labor court again to determine compensation for the managers involved in the case. It could also face demands from thousands of other drivers in the country.
It also has major implications for Britain’s gig economy, which is estimated to have around 5.5 million people. Other companies operating a similar model to Uber’s include Bolt, Ola and Deliveroo.