Dutch Court Rules Uber Drivers Are Employees, Not Contractors

(RTTNews) - Ride-hailing service Uber Inc. (UBER) has lost a lawsuit related to drivers' working rights in Netherlands. The Dutch court on Monday ruled that Uber drivers are employees, not contractors, and are entitled to workers' rights under local labor laws.

The Amsterdam District Court passed the ruling in favor of the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV), which had argued that Uber's roughly 4,000 drivers in the capital are employees of a taxi company and should be granted benefits in line with the labor law.

"The legal relationship between Uber and these drivers meets all the characteristics of an employment contract," the ruling said.

Uber must now apply the Collective Labor Agreement for Taxi Transport to protect drivers, allowing some of the drivers to claim overdue salary as well. Uber was also ordered to pay FNV €50,000 in compensation for failing to comply with the agreement.

"Due to the judge's ruling, the Uber drivers are now automatically employed by Uber," said Zakaria Boufangacha, FNV's deputy chairman. "As a result, they will receive more wages and more rights in the event of dismissal or illness, for example."

Meanwhile Uber said it would appeal against the decision and "has no plans to employ drivers in the Netherlands".

"We are disappointed with this decision because we know that the overwhelming majority of drivers wish to remain independent," said Maurits Schönfeld, Uber's general manager for northern Europe. "Drivers don't want to give up their freedom to choose if, when and where to work."