Fair Work Commission rules Uber Eats drivers are not employees

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) President Justice Ross and Vice President Hatcher have dismissed an Uber Eats driver's appeal to an earlier decision handed down by Commissioner Hampton, and confirmed that the Uber Eats driver could not pursue Uber Eats for unfair dismissal as she was not an employee.

In support of the worker (Ms Gupta), the Transport Workers' Union (TWU) argued that Uber Eats exercised control over delivery workers via its services agreement and driver app. In contrast, Uber Eats argued that it merely provided services to Ms Gupta by giving her access to the driver app and collecting payments on her behalf. Further, Uber Eats characterised itself as no more than an "agent" and contended the "contract for the performance of each delivery" was between the restaurant and deliverer.