Addison Lee drivers were wrongly classed as self-employed and should have been recognised as workers, an employment tribunal has found.
The London-based taxi firm could owe its 3,800 self-employed drivers thousands of pounds in wages and holiday pay.
Liana Wood, from the employment team at law firm Leigh Day, which represents the drivers who brought the claim, said they were pleased with the ruling that acknowledges the contribution that drivers have made to the success of the company.
‘This decision will not just have an impact on the thousands of Addison Lee drivers but, following on from the decision in Uber, on all workers in the so-called gig economy whose employers classify them as self-employed and deny them the rights to which they are entitled,’ she said.
Addison Lee said it was disappointed with the outcome and would fully review the ruling.
“We have always had, and are committed to maintaining, a flexible and fair relationship which generates work for 3,800 drivers,” a spokesman from Addison Lee said.
There will now be a further hearing in the employment tribunal to calculate the holiday and pay that the drivers should receive.
