'It's become a pattern' | Uber leadership gave individuals power - then panicked

In February of this year, the Supreme Court ruled that, despite the many appeals claiming otherwise by Uber, the company’s UK-based drivers were in-fact employees, not self-employed and, therefore, should be entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay.

Whilst the move has massive ramifications for both Uber’s business model and the gig economy within the UK, the battle over the status of drivers in the US is still very much taking place.

In 2019, California lawmakers passed a bill tightening the restrictions that apply to all gig economy companies. However, the ride-hailing giant managed to successfully circumvent the new laws by claiming that drivers are neither core to its business, and are independent contractors due to their ability to be "free from the control and direction" of Uber – as reported by Insider.

Power to the individual