What you need to know about the gig economy

Uber-driver

In February Uber lost the third and final stage in a five-year, and highly publicised, legal battle with its drivers who claimed that they had been wrongly classified as ‘self-employed’ and were therefore not entitled to the same pay and benefits as workers.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the earlier decisions, ruling that Uber’s drivers were in fact workers, which means that they are entitled to the minimum wage, holiday pay and pension rights.

Uber has now responded to the judgment saying that it “…will not increase fares as a result of the decision and that its 70,000 drivers will be given a minimum wage, holiday pay and pension rights.”

Now that Uber has come out in response to the judgment, and chosen to fundamentally change its working model rather than fight on, will have far reaching consequences for the wider gig economy. It is likely to encourage other businesses in the gig economy to review their working model and for many this may mean that they are simply unable to continue to trade or will need to look to restructure their business.

To read the full article from DAS Law Head of Employment Allison Lewis CLICK HERE

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About DAS Group

The DAS UK Group comprises an insurance company (DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Ltd), a law firm (DAS Law), and an after the event (ATE) legal expenses division.

DAS UK introduced legal expenses insurance (LEI) in 1975, protecting individuals and businesses against the unforeseen costs involved in a legal dispute. In 2018 it wrote more than seven million policies.

 The company offers a range of insurance and assistance add-on products suitable for landlords, homeowners, motorists, groups and business owners, while it’s after the event legal expenses insurance division offers civil litigation, clinical negligence and personal injury products. In 2013, DAS also acquired its own law firm – DAS Law – enabling it to leverage the firm’s expertise to provide its customers with access to legal advice and representation.

 DAS UK is part of the ERGO Group, one of Europe’s largest insurance groups (the majority shareholder in ERGO is Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers).