https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/uber-grants-uk-drivers-worker-status-after-losing-major-labor-battle.html Skip Navigation logo logo Markets * Pre-Markets * U.S. Markets * Currencies * Cryptocurrency * Futures & Commodities * Bonds * Funds & ETFs Business * Economy * Finance * Health & Science * Media * Real Estate * Energy * Transportation * Industrials * Retail * Wealth * Life * Small Business Investing * Invest In You * Personal Finance * Fintech * Financial Advisors * Trading Nation * Options Action * ETF Street * Buffett Archive * Earnings * Trader Talk Tech * Cybersecurity * Enterprise * Internet * Media * Mobile * Social Media * Venture Capital * Tech Guide Politics * White House * Policy * Defense * Congress * Finding Solutions CNBC TV * Live TV * Live Audio * Business Day Shows * The News with Shepard Smith * Entertainment Shows * Full Episodes * Latest Video * Top Video * CEO Interviews * CNBC Documentaries * CNBC Podcasts * CNBC World * Digital Originals * Live TV Schedule Watchlist PRO * Pro News * Pro Live * Subscribe * Sign In Menu * Make It * USA * INTL Search quotes, news & videos SIGN IN logo Markets * Pre-Markets * U.S. Markets * Currencies * Cryptocurrency * Futures & Commodities * Bonds * Funds & ETFs Business * Economy * Finance * Health & Science * Media * Real Estate * Energy * Transportation * Industrials * Retail * Wealth * Life * Small Business Investing * Invest In You * Personal Finance * Fintech * Financial Advisors * Trading Nation * Options Action * ETF Street * Buffett Archive * Earnings * Trader Talk Tech * Cybersecurity * Enterprise * Internet * Media * Mobile * Social Media * Venture Capital * Tech Guide Politics * White House * Policy * Defense * Congress * Finding Solutions CNBC TV * Live TV * Live Audio * Business Day Shows * The News with Shepard Smith * Entertainment Shows * Full Episodes * Latest Video * Top Video * CEO Interviews * CNBC Documentaries * CNBC Podcasts * CNBC World * Digital Originals * Live TV Schedule Watchlist PRO * Pro News * Pro Live * Subscribe * Sign In Menu Tech Uber grants UK drivers worker status after losing major labor battle Published Tue, Mar 16 20215:00 PM EDTUpdated Tue, Mar 16 20216:55 PM EDT Deirdre Bosa@dee_bosa Laura Batchelor ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email Key Points * Uber will reclassify all U.K.-based drivers as workers. * Under the new designation, more than 70,000 drivers will receive some benefits, including minimum wage, holiday time and pension contributions, but they will not get full employee benefits. * Uber's U.K. ride-hailing business accounted for 6.4% of all mobility gross bookings in the fourth quarter of 2020. VIDEO3:1103:11 Uber grants U.K. drivers worker status Fast Money On the heels of losing a major labor battle in the United Kingdom, Uber will reclassify all U.K.-based drivers as workers. Under the new designation, more than 70,000 drivers will receive some benefits, including minimum wage, holiday time and pension contributions, but they will not get full employee benefits. Uber announced the change in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that its U.K. ride-hailing business accounted for 6.4% of all mobility gross bookings in the fourth quarter of 2020. While the move will increase Uber's costs in the U.K., the company is still targeting adjusted EBITDA profitability by year-end. Earlier this year, Uber lost a major legal battle in the U.K. around this issue. The country's Supreme Court upheld a ruling that a group of drivers were workers, not independent contractors. While the decision applied to a small group of drivers, thousands more have taken action against the company. In an op-ed in The Evening Standard, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote that following the Supreme Court ruling, "we could have continued to dispute drivers' rights to any of these protections in court. Instead, we have decided to turn the page." "I know many observers won't pat us on the back for taking this step, which comes after a five-year legal battle," Khosrowshahi said. "They have a point, though I hope the path that we chose shows our willingness to change." Meanwhile, Uber and the gig economy as a whole is facing regulatory challenges around the globe. Uber has spent millions battling those challenges in other regions. In California, Uber pushed back against Assembly Bill 5, a gig-economy law passed by the state legislature in 2019 that tightened the rules for classifying workers as independent contractors. After a widespread campaign, costing over $200 million -- the most expensive ballot measure in the state's history -- Uber and a handful of other gig-economy companies persuaded voters to support a ballot measure called Proposition 22, which exempted Uber and other gig-economy platforms from state employment law. In turn, gig workers received some benefits without full employment status. Some of the additional costs of providing benefits were passed on to ride-hailing customers. logo * Subscribe to CNBC PRO * Licensing & Reprints * CNBC Councils * Supply Chain Values * CNBC on Peacock * Advertise With Us * Join the CNBC Panel * Digital Products * News Releases * Closed Captioning * Corrections * About CNBC * Internships * Site Map * Podcasts * Ad Choices * Careers * Help * Contact * * * * * * * News Tips Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you. 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