Private hire taxi firms to face legal action in employment status claims
23 April 2018
In the wake of the Uber case three taxi firms are to face legal action over driver’s rights. The companies are A2B, Blacklane and Green Tomato Cars and are accused of not paying their drivers the National Minimum Wage and Holiday entitlements.
The cases are backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) union, which has won a string of successful cases on worker status, including against Uber.
The companies involved insist that their employees are independent, self-employed contractors rather than being classed as workers. If they were classed as workers it would entitle the drivers to employment rights, such as receiving the national minimum wage and holiday pay, having rest breaks and having the right not to work more than 48 hours a week.
Dr Jason Moyer-Lee, general secretary at IWGB, said:
“The wide-scale depravation of employment rights is not unique to Uber, it is rampant in the private hire sector in the UK. With these actions, the IWGB is stepping up its campaign to have private hire drivers recognised as the workers they are and enjoying the rights to which they are legally entitled.”
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