An Uber driver who says he earned less than the minimum wage has told a tribunal about the “tremendous pressure” he was put under to work long hours and accept jobs, and the “repercussions” he faced from the company if he cancelled a pick-up.
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Two drivers are taking Uber to a tribunal, arguing that they should be offered equal terms as other workers in the capital.
“On behalf of our clients, we will claim that Uber is wrongly classifying its drivers as self-employed with the result that drivers are denied the rights and protections that Parliament intended them to have”.
He was speaking at an employment tribunal at which a group of Uber drivers are arguing they should be recognised officially as workers at the company.
Drivers have brought a legal case saying that the United States company is acting illegally by designating them as self-employed rather than staff with full rights. This is the first time that Uber’s claim that drivers are self-employed has been tested under United Kingdom law. According to the union, this particular case will also determine the fate of other 17 similar cases brought up against Uber recently.
Mr Farrar said: “In reality they pay me for the work I have done and keep 20% of what they have charged the customer”.
Two Uber drivers in London have brought a test case arguing the ride service is acting unlawfully by not offering paid holidays and sick pay. Drivers over there had filed a case and demanded they be classified as employees of the company rather than independent contractors.
Uber, which allows users to book and pay for a cab through a smartphone app, is used by some two million Londoners.
Uber has always maintained that its drivers are self-employed and as such are able to work as little or often as they wish.
Uber said it was rare for pay to be deducted and it would only occur in circumstances where the route taken by the driver was deemed to be excessively long, for example.
Jo Bertram, Uber UK’s regional general manager, said: “More than 30,000 people in London drive with our app and this case only involves a very small number”.
“Many partner-drivers have left other lines of work and chosen to partner with Uber for this very reason”.
In his witness statement, Mr Farrar said drivers receive 80% of fares paid by passengers to Uber, with the rest going to the company as “commission”. A decision on the ongoing lawsuit is not expected until the next few weeks.
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In London, it has fended off attempts by drivers of the city’s famous black cabs to have the app ruled illegal, and transport bosses decided earlier this year not to impose tough new rules on the app.
