Uber will give its European drivers access to medical cover and compensation for work-related injuries. The new protections include sick pay, parental leave and bereavement payments. Uber said it previously "focused too much on growth and not enough on the people who made that growth possible". "We called drivers 'partners', but didn't always act like it," said Uber's chief executive... The insurance and compensation package will be available to all Uber drivers and Uber Eats delivery couriers across Europe...

Uber drivers in the UK have been campaigning for better rights for at least three years. In October 2016, a tribunal ruled that two UK-based Uber drivers should be classed as staff, not self-employed workers... Uber appealed [...], arguing its drivers were self-employed and were under no obligation to use its booking app, but in November 2017, the Employment Tribunal upheld its original decision that any Uber driver who had the Uber app switched on was working for the company under a "worker" contract.