Sociedade de Permutas e Combinações: Problemas Jurídicos da Economia Colaborativa

Uber will take its gig economy battle to the Supreme Court after it failed to overturn a ruling that grants its drivers workers' rights.

On Wednesday the Court of Appeal upheld a 2016 decision ruling that Uber drivers were not self-employed but regular workers who qualify for basic rights such as minimum wage, holiday and sick pay. 

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Deliveroo riders have been denied collective bargaining rights at the High Court in a major setback for workers in the so-called "gig economy."

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) lost its legal battle to gain the right to lobby Deliveroo on behalf of riders over pay, hours and holidays. 

Uber is seeking to give its drivers a share of its business, joining Airbnb in calls for US regulators to change rules about security ownership.

The ride-hailing company has written to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to say it is the "proper role of public policy and key institutions as well as the private sector to explore avenues to give individuals greater economic security regardless of how they work".

Uber has asked for a change to the SEC's "Rule 701", under which companies can issue shares to employees, to include so-called "gig economy" workers, who are not officially classed as employees but still work for a company. 

Uber can continue operating in London after a judge overturned a ban in the U.K. capital on Tuesday.

Uber was granted a 15-month license, with some broad conditions. The ride-hailing firm will have to provide regulators with the results of an independent review into procedure and safety every six months. It will also have to update UK regulators about any relevant changes to company policy or governance.

The regulatory agency Transport for London (TFL) accused Uber last year of showing a "lack of corporate responsibility" in relation to "public safety and security," and failed to renew a license that would allow the U.S. ride-hailing service to operate in London. Uber had been allowed to continue its business in London while it appealed last October's ban.

A plumber has won a legal battle for working rights in a Supreme Court ruling expected to have huge ramifications for freelance workers.

Gary Smith had worked solely for Pimlico Plumbers for six years.

Despite being VAT-registered and paying self-employed tax, he was entitled to workers' rights, the court ruled.

The ruling will be closely read by others with similar disputes, many of whom work for firms in the so-called gig economy.

An employment tribunal was "entitled to conclude" that Mr Smith was a worker, the court ruled.

As a worker Mr Smith would be entitled to employment rights, such as holiday and sick pay.

Nearly a third of Uber’s 50,000 drivers in Britain are logged into the app for more than 40 hours a week, whilst just under 8 percent are online for more than 60 hours, the company said in a letter to parliamentarians published on Wednesday.

A total of 2.6 percent of drivers are logged in for more than 70 hours a week and 0.8 percent for longer than 80 hours, according to the firm.

Uber allegedly engaged in a range of “unethical and unlawful intelligence collections”, including the theft of competitive trade secrets, bribery of foreign officials and spying on competitors and politicians, according to an explosive legal document published on Friday.

It’s the latest chapter in the discovery process for the company’s messy legal squabble with Waymo, Google’s driverless car spin-off, which has accused Uber of stealing trade secrets.

"Uber has failed to overturn an employment court ruling that said it must treat its drivers as workers as opposed to self-employed contractors.

The legal case against Uber was brought last October by ex-Uber drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam. They claimed Uber was acting illegally by not giving drivers basic worker rights (such as holiday pay and the minimum wage) and won.

Uber appealed the decision at a two-day employment tribunal in September, saying that Uber acted just like traditional minicab firms. The company has always maintained that drivers who use its platform are independent contractors. It frames itself as a technology platform, connecting riders and drivers and taking a fee in the process.

uber london appOli Scarff/Getty Images
Judge Jennifer Eady QC announced that she was "dismissing" the appeal in her verdict, which was summarised at an employment tribunal court in London on Thursday. 

Nigel Mackay, employment solicitor at law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the drivers, said: "We are very pleased that the EAT has rejected Uber's appeal.

"We have always believed that the Employment Tribunal’s decision from last October was entirely correct in saying that our GMB member clients were entitled to workers’ right such as the minimum wage and holiday pay.

"We now hope that Uber will accept this decision, rather than seeking pursuing appeals, so that we can swiftly return to the Employment Tribunal on behalf of our GMB member clients, for the Tribunal to decide the compensation that they are entitled to."

In a statement, Uber said it plans to appeal the ruling. 

"Almost all taxi and private hire drivers have been self-employed for decades, long before our app existed," said Uber UK's acting general manager Tom Elvidge. "The main reason why drivers use Uber is because they value the freedom to choose if, when and where they drive and so we intend to appeal.

"The tribunal relies on the assertion that drivers are required to take 80% of trips sent to them when logged into the app. As drivers who use Uber know, this has never been the case in the UK.

"Over the last year we have made a number of changes to our app to give drivers even more control. We’ve also invested in things like access to illness and injury cover and we’ll keep introducing changes to make driving with Uber even better."