Great news for Uber drivers

mellowyellow

mellowyellow

Well-known Member
UK Supreme Court

Uber drivers are entitled to minimum wage

uber.jpg
James Farrar, left, and Yaseen Aslam, right, who led the case, celebrate as they listen to the court decision
FRANK AUGSTEIN/AP

Uber has lost a Supreme Court case in which it claimed that its drivers were independent contractors rather than workers entitled to a minimum wage and holidays in a significant decision for gig workers.

The company has consistently argued that its drivers are self-employed and enter into individual contracts with customers and that Uber’s role is simply that of a booking agent that takes a 20 per cent cut of the fare.

That argument has been unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court, which concluded that Uber drivers should be classed as workers and be entitled to basic rights such as paid holidays, a minimum wage and protection against discrimination. Source: The Times
 

I doubt that will happen in the U.S. Contractors have no minimum wage or benefit guarantees here. I worked as a contractor for over ten years. During my first few years, on some projects I made maybe a few dollars an hour, but I had to get experience somehow.
 
It seems like guaranteeing a minimum wage is contrary to the notion of an independent contractor in a gig economy where people work when it suits them.

I can understand Uber and others being asked to structure rates to ensure a reasonable rate of return for a driver's efforts but not an actual wage with benefits.
 

Drive with Uber, Sydney​

You can drive and earn as much as you want. And, the more you drive, the more you could make. Plus, your fares get automatically deposited weekly……

https://www.uber.com/a/join-new?ec_exp=1&exp=70801t

Uber's minimum requirements​

All cars driving with Uber in Sydney must be:

ANCAP 5-Star rated, or fall under our vehicle exemption policy

In excellent working condition

No older than the maximum age for the Uber vehicle option chosen

A 4-door car or passenger van

No more than 8-seats, including the driver’s seat

Able to pass a pink slip inspection

Registered and CTP-insured in New South Wales

Free from cosmetic damage (e.g. scuff marks, scratches and indentations such as hail damage)

Free from commercial branding (e.g. graphics or wraps greater than 20cm by 20cm) Other minimum rules apply to specific vehicle options.

*Uber reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to amend this list of vehicle requirements and/or accepted vehicles at any time.

https://www.uber.com/au/en/drive/sydney/vehicle-requirements/
 
mellowyellow said:
I hope not, here it is one of the few jobs available for people out of work. if you can lease or buy a new car and have a good background, you can start earning.
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It will kill this job for many............................. as an employee Uber would need to have schedules and timekeeping ..... thus no longer at the drivers choice of when to drive and when they do not.....

These GIG jobs were Not meant as full time jobs for people ...... but because some people think it should be they destroy it ....
wages varied greatly because demand and competition varied by locations ....now with things like this or the law California ( AB-5 i think) put in place will destroy the options for people.
No longer in your free time where you get to choose ............all because some people want to think every job needs government to dictate and make even.........if people drive in area with low demand and too many drivers they make very little but when people think about signing up they are only told about the top earners and when they do not make that they feel misled but it is up to them to do the research.


if Uber cant find a way around it all those "gigs" will be gone......
 
Aunt Bea said:
It seems like guaranteeing a minimum wage is contrary to the notion of an independent contractor in a gig economy where people work when it suits them.

I can understand Uber and others being asked to structure rates to ensure a reasonable rate of return for a driver's efforts but not an actual wage with benefits.
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you are correct they would need to schedule and time keep .... so drivers would not be able to do it when they wanted only.....
 
Looks like it may not be good news for Uber drivers, so many Aussie Uber drivers are unhappy

​

…..Not from Sydney, from WA, but when I was driving full time it was a massive struggle to make ends meet requiring excessive hours driving, frustration, sleep deprivation and stress. Whatever went into my bank account would gradually evaporate during the week/month on Petrol, servicing and all the other costs, never leaving me with any savings, in fact without my credit card I couldn't have managed. I never did manage to put aside any of the depreciation costs for buying a replacement car like you're supposed to do in theory, that was all used up too to for the day to day expenses bills and taxes. The biggest cost was to my health, sitting in a car seat for hours on end , being away from my home life/family, not sleeping enough, and eating shit food on the run. You are not alone mate……………​

https://ridesharedriversunited.com/...ive-every-week-form-unhappy-uber-drivers.312/​

 
The idea was simple ... ride sharing...... people giving rides to others for a bit of money ..many people did this already help a friend with errands....get a few bucks....
The Business just provided a way so people who had time and cars/ transportation to connect with others who needed a ride....

people looking for some type of side hustle to add to income started signing up ......
some people were/ are successful at it .... some are Not....
some who sign up began to Not want to ... be a side hustle.... but people who thought
"hey i heard someone made a bunch doing this..... i think i can too"........" if i do Full time maybe i will make even MORE then ....(Insert urban legend here.)"
This type of thing can be feast or famine...... small changes could ruin your regular routes etc...
Example............an addition in my area of another airport making mostly shorter business trips/ connecting flights sucked off about 30 % from the once only game in town BIG regional airport .... so one would assume about 30% of demand for rides to that old airport diminished as well .....

They never thought about supply and demand....... they do not always know how many other drivers are covering the same area ..... maybe the guy you heard about making a ton is located by high volume venue like an airport sports arena bars etc..... and they are not......
some areas maybe provide more generous tippers etc.......

nope people who wanted to "work for themselves" did not realize Some of them had Fools as bosses. The "be you own Boss" that did not see changes in patterns and looked at big picture.
They only saw freedom of working when they wanted and not really answering to anyone.....there is a cost to that ...... They had not planned for what if this is not as lucrative as the sales pitch? .....
what if my buddy saying he was raking it in ....was not truthful...?

So lets sue and force this to be like all other jobs because ......."if i am not making the money i heard that that one guy did i want to make sure no one else is....."
 
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I wonder if that ruling could apply to Amazon Mechanical Turk (I think is the name?), I saw YouTubes about how to make a hundred dollars a day with that, and I applied and spent a few weekends trying, but it was awful, I only made a few dollars per hour, if that. Some of the tasks were interesting tho. But I'd consider it more like volunteer work than gig work.
 
Jeni said:
These GIG jobs were Not meant as full time jobs for people
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I'd be interested to hear who made that decision. Not everybody has the education or desire to be a Wall St. executive, many young people hold 2 or 3 of these "gig" jobs just to make ends meet. And health care? Much of the working class has to take a place in line with welfare recipients.
 
Nathan said:
I'd be interested to hear who made that decision. Not everybody has the education or desire to be a Wall St. executive, many young people hold 2 or 3 of these "gig" jobs just to make ends meet. And health care? Much of the working class has to take a place in line with welfare recipients.
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No one had to make that decision ............look how many of these are advertised as a second or extra income...... "do you like driving... make money in your spare time" was an ad i saw.....

that to me is truth in advertising............ that did not say come make a career...
 
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