Uber and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5
In what was headline news, the Supreme Court has upheld a
tribunal decision that Uber drivers are workers, meaning that they
will be entitled to holiday pay, pension contributions and a whole
host of other workers' rights. While Uber's contracts
were drafted specifically to avoid worker status and the associated
rights, this decision confirms that employers can't simply
draft their way out of worker status as the determination of worker
status is a matter of statutory rather than contractual
interpretation.
The court paid particular attention to the purpose of the
various worker related legislation, which was said to be designed
to protect vulnerable workers who have little say over their pay
and working conditions because they are in a dependent and
subordinate position to their “employer”. The court
found that the Uber drivers in question were clearly in a
subordinate position to Uber due to the tight control
