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Posted on the 11th November 2024 in PHTM News
BOLT DRIVERS WIN LEGAL CLAIM TO BE CLASSED AS WORKERS RATHER THAN SELF EMPLOYED
Thousands of drivers working for ride-hailing and food delivery app Bolt have won a legal claim to be classed as workers in the UK rather than self-employed.
The ruling means drivers could be entitled to holiday pay and the minimum wage, which lawyers said could lead to compensation worth more than £200m.
Bolt said it was reviewing its options, including grounds for appeal.
It pointed out that the findings of the Employment Tribunal were confined to drivers who were not on multiple ride-hailing apps.
About 15,000 current and former Bolt drivers took legal action against the Estonian-headquartered firm at a London employment tribunal.
They argued they were formally workers under British law.
Bolt said it had "always supported" the "choice" of drivers "to remain self-employed independent contractors".
But the tribunal found that "overwhelmingly, the power lies with Bolt".
"There is nothing in the relationship which demands, or even suggests, agency" on the part of the drivers, it said.
The tribunal added that "the supposed contract between the Bolt driver and the passenger is a fiction designed by Bolt – and in particular its lawyers – to defeat the argument that it has an employer/worker relationship with the driver".
The ruling is the latest on the "gig-economy", which is characterised by flexible but unpredictable work patterns.
Leigh Day, the law firm representing the claimants, said the judgment confirmed "gig economy operators cannot continue to falsely classify their workers as independent contractors... to avoid providing the rights those workers are properly entitled to".
It called on Bolt to compensate its clients "without further delay".
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