<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5cb06a2c3de6003af20ee0ea-2080/ap18303532001289.jpg" border="0" alt="Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar" data-mce-source="ASSOCIATED PRESS" data-mce-caption="Former Uber drivers Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, who took Uber to court in the UK over driver rights."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Uber just lost a major ruling from the UK's top court on whether its drivers should be classified as workers instead of self-employed contractors.</p><p>The Supreme Court made its verdict during a hearing which started at 9:45 a.m. GMT on Friday. The judges concluded that Uber drivers should be counted as workers, entitling them to basic worker rights such as holiday pay and national minimum wage.</p><p>The decision potentially threatens Uber's business model in the UK, one of its biggest markets.</p><p>The legal battle kicked off five years ago when two ex-Uber drivers, Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-uber-drivers-entitled-to-minimum-wage-holiday-pay-lodon-tribunal-rules-2016-10'r=UK">filed a lawsuit against Uber</a>. They argued that the ride-hailing company was breaking UK employment law by failing to offer basic worker rights, and won.</p><p>Uber fought back and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lawyer-tells-judge-it-should-be-treated-like-other-minicab-firms-2017-9'r=UK">appealed the ruling in 2017</a>. The company said it acted like other traditional minicab firms and counts its drivers as independent contractors, which ultimately gives Uber drivers minimal protections, such as no holiday or sick pay.</p><p>Uber considers itself a technology platform that connects riders and drivers and takes a payment in the process.</p><p>Yaseen Aslam told Insider Friday: "I understand the implications of how important today's ruling is for millions of precarious workers."</p><p>He said, "These companies, like Uber, rely on vulnerable people they could exploit who don't understand the law or they don't know how to assert their rights."</p><p>The government also has to "take responsibility on this abuse of rights," Aslam added.</p><p dir="ltr">Jamie Heywood, Uber's regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said: "We respect the Court's decision which focussed on a small number of drivers who used the Uber app in 2016."</p><p dir="ltr">"Since then we have made some significant changes to our business, guided by drivers every step of the way. These include giving even more control over how they earn and providing new protections like free insurance in case of sickness or injury," Heywood added.</p><p dir="ltr">Daniel Barnet, an employment lawyer at Outer Temple Chambers, wrote in a bulletin in reaction to the news that the ruling means that "Uber drivers are entitled to claim minimum wage (including backpay for minimum wage), with their minimum wage claims being based upon their entire working day, not just when they had a rider in their cabs."</p><p dir="ltr">He also said they can claim up to two years' backpay and 5.6 weeks' annual leave each year, plus whistleblowing and other rights.</p><p><em>This is a developing story.</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-uber-drivers-entitled-to-minimum-wage-holiday-pay-lodon-tribunal-rules-2016-10'r=UK" >British Uber drivers are entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay, tribunal rules</a></strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-judge-rejects-uber-appeal-over-driver-employment-rights-2017-11" >Uber loses appeal in landmark UK case over its drivers' employment rights</a></strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lyft-doordash-grubhub-instacart-protest-ppe-shortages-pandemic-safety-2021-2" >A year into the pandemic, Uber and Lyft drivers say gig companies are still failing them. They blame Prop 22.</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-driver-lost-uk-legal-battle-court-worker-rights-employment-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/candy-corn-ingredients-made-of-gelatin-lac-resin-halloween-sugar-syrup-2017-10">What candy corn is actually made of</a></p>
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