"UK High Court deals huge blow to Uber-style ride-hailing contracts", 6 Dec 2021

In a landmark court decision against Uber, the U.K. High Court has ruled that its business model is unlawful.

The decision — which reboots the application of London’s regulations around private hire vehicle contracts — has huge ramifications for how ride-hailing platforms like Uber can operate in the U.K. capital and how much U.K. tax they will pay.

The crux of the issue is the contract model Uber and many other ride-hailing platforms have been applying…

The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act predates ride-hailing apps — and companies like Uber have claimed to be complying with its stipulations despite simultaneously arguing they are not contractually bound by trips booked by its platform.

Uber has argued that the acceptance of a booking constituted a contract between the passenger and the driver — to which it claimed it was not a party — …

In concluding the judgement, the High Court makes it clear platforms cannot avoid a contractual obligation — writing that “in order to operate lawfully under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 a licensed operator who accepts a booking from a passenger is required to enter as principal into a contractual obligation with the passenger to provide the journey which is the subject of the booking”.

That in turn means there are likely to be ramifications for the cost of offering a ride-hailing service — and, more broadly, how viable it may be to operate such a service at all.

…And the core criticism remains that the gig platform business model is inherently — and, indeed, unlawfully — exploitative of labor.

Uber [said] that it is reviewing the judgement — and said it will comply with the decision of the court.

We also contacted FreeNow for a reaction and a spokesperson told us it is also reviewing the ruling.

While this High Court ruling is specific to London/the U.K., wider pro-worker changes also appear to be on the way for gig platforms across Europe — as EU lawmakers are working on legislation they say will improve working conditions for platforms workers.