GMB launches fresh challenge over drivers’ status at Addison Lee
The GMB union has announced that it has launched a fresh legal challenge against Addison Lee over drivers’ employment status. The hearing begins tomorrow (4 July) at the Central London employment tribunal.
The test case brought by the GMB involves three Addison Lee drivers, represented by the law firm Leigh Day.
The union claims the drivers should be classified as workers and therefore entitled to the national minimum wage and holiday pay – benefits they are currently denied.
As previously reported by Post&Parcel, GMB (again represented by Leigh Day) won a drivers’ classification case at the London tribunal in October.
Uber is currently appealing the decision in the employment appeal tribunal, which is due to be heard in September.
Maria Ludkin, GMB Legal Director, said: “Addison Lee is shirking its responsibilities through bogus self-employment.
“Addison Lee drivers work for Addison Lee and are entitled to the same basic rights and benefits as workers in other industries.”
Liana Wood, representing the drivers for Leigh Day, added: “Addison Lee currently denies that its drivers are entitled to the most basic of workers’ rights.
“They argue that drivers do not work for Addison Lee but instead work for themselves and are self-employed.
“On behalf of our clients we will claim that Addison Lee is wrongly classifying its drivers as self-employed with the result that drivers are denied the rights and protections that they were lawfully intended them to have, including the right to not have their contracts terminated because they are members of a trade union.
“We will argue that Addison Lee exerts significant control over its drivers in order to provide a highly trained and vetted driving service to the public.”