Uber drivers in NZ win court battle for employee status

Uber drivers are celebrating a significant legal victory after the Court of Appeal dismissed Uber's challenge to a 2022 Employment Court verdict. The verdict had determined that four drivers were misclassified as contractors rather than employees, entitling them to full employment protections, including sick leave, holiday pay, and the right to join a union.

FIRST Union and E tū, representing the drivers, are now urging Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden to abandon plans to reform New Zealand's contracting law. The unions argue that these changes would hinder workers' ability to contest their classification as contractors in the future.

The Court of Appeal applied a detailed analysis of section 6 of the Employment Relations Act, concurring with the Employment Court's original decision. The court described Uber's terms of employment for drivers as "window dressing," indicating that the conditions set by Uber were superficial and did not reflect the reality of an employer-employee relationship.

Nurredin Abdurahman, one of the four drivers involved in the initial case, expressed optimism about the outcome. "This is a win for all working people," he stated. "The day of corporates like Uber exploiting NZ workers is coming to an end!" He added, "I’m grateful to the legal system for identifying an injustice to the working class and examining it properly. I’m extremely happy – this will make a huge difference at a time where Uber drivers are still being mistreated by the company."

Meaole Keil, another driver who participated in the lawsuit, emphasised the emotional toll and relief brought by the ruling. "I’m ecstatic, over the moon, and very emotional. It’s a relief. It’s been a long journey, a long fight, and we want to thank the unions’ legal teams for keeping the faith in us," he said. "I think that personally for drivers, it’s an affirmation that we were right – we were not contractors but employees. We hope our win here will help others who are in unfair working relationships with employers to stand up for themselves."

FIRST Union General Secretary Dennis Maga praised the ruling as a pivotal moment for workers' rights in New Zealand. "This will change the landscape of employment in Aotearoa for the decades ahead of us," he said. "The majority of Uber drivers still do not earn minimum wage. This appeal and ruling now cements the fact that drivers have been misclassified as contractors and denied basic employment rights by Uber."

Maga outlined the union's next steps, mentioning support for over 1,000 drivers seeking wage and holiday pay arrears and the initiation of collective bargaining with Uber. "We’ve already supported more than 1,000 Uber drivers to file and seek wage and holiday pay arrears in the Employment Relations Authority, and FIRST Union has initiated collective bargaining with Uber already – this work can now progress after being effectively on hold for this ruling," he explained.

Rachel Mackintosh, E tū National Secretary, reiterated the importance of the decision for all workers in New Zealand. "The Uber model of employment is new, but the importance of workers' rights is not," she said. "We have legislation to stop exploitative employers taking advantage of precarious workers, and the courts have not accepted Uber’s argument that they are somehow above the law."

The ruling aligns with other international decisions, such as those in the UK (2021) and the Netherlands (2019), which also found that Uber drivers should be classified as employees due to the control Uber exerts over their work conditions and environment. These rulings guarantee drivers benefits such as minimum wage and holiday pay.

The outcome of this case is expected to have significant implications on labour laws and the gig economy in New Zealand, especially as the government contemplates changes that could affect the classification and rights of gig economy workers.