Jomon Perumayan Joseph was caught with a stun gun on the dashboard of his Uber vehicle. Photo: NZME
The Supreme Court has thrown out Uber's appeal against treating drivers as employees.
It comes after a group of four Uber drivers took the ride-sharing company to the Employment Court in 2022 over their employment status.
They argued that drivers should be considered employees rather than contractors and be entitled to benefits such as leave entitlements, holiday pay and a minimum wage.
The Employment Court ruled in favour of the drivers, which Uber appealed unsuccessfully at the Court of Appeal in 2024.
Uber then appealed that decision at the Supreme Court, where on Monday five justices unanimously voted to throw out the appeal yet again.
"Uber offers a rider the fare for the trip and the rider accepts that offer. Neither drivers nor riders can effectively select one another, and they are practically anonymous vis-à-vis one another throughout the entire transaction," a written summary of the court's decision said.
"Uber earns its revenues by charging riders for trips, and resolves any difficulties which might arise during each trip. A passenger could not reasonably be expected to think they were contracting with the driver when they got into the car."
Workers First Union, which represented the drivers alongside E tū, celebrated the decision.
"It hasn't been easy, but it has absolutely been worth it," deputy secretary Anita Rosentreter said in a statement.
She called for Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden to axe her Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which would exclude specified contractors from being able to test their employment status as the four Uber drivers did.
"It would show maturity from Brooke van Velden if she were to take a moment to reflect on the Supreme Court's judgement and consider that New Zealanders will not accept exploitation under the illusion of 'flexibility' or 'certainty'," Rosentreter said.
Uber general manager for New Zealand Emma Foley expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court's findings.
"Independent contracting is a cornerstone of not just Uber but also our broader economy - from tradespeople and creatives to IT consultants and health professionals - and hundreds of thousands of Kiwis value the freedom and control it provides," she said in a statement.
"While the implications of this decision could be far reaching, for now this decision relates to only four drivers and delivery partners, and Uber and Uber Eats will continue to operate as normal."
'I always knew this was the right decision'
But one of the drivers, Nureddin Abdurahman - now a Wellington City Councillor - said it was a satisfying result after a long journey.
"It's a relief, and I always knew this was the right decision," he said.
"Now hearing the Supreme Court in agreement with all the drivers... I'm so happy about this."
Abdurahman echoed concerns about the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, and argued that the Supreme Court's ruling should give politicians pause.
"This is the highest court in the country, in this land, the Supreme Court making a decision, and the politicians are going around and finding a way to support a multinational [corporation]... I don't think so," he said.
"Now they have to make a decision whether they stand on the side of the working people or they stand with the multinational."
"They represent us. Politicians are our representatives. They are not there for these multinationals. We elect those people. If they make a decision that is against our interests, we have democracy, elections."
Workers First Union's Anita Rosentreter told Checkpoint the union would fight for compensation for the drivers.
"We're going back and calculating exactly what Uber would owe drivers if they had paid them at least the minimum wage, whatever it was at the time, and given them annual leave and so on," she said.
"The fact of the matter is that could be upwards of 100,000 per driver, we don't know exactly what it's going to be."
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