Deliveroo riders aren't entitled to collective bargaining rights, UK court says

abcnews.go.com:

Britain’s top court has ruled that riders for one of the country’s biggest meal delivery companies don’t have collective bargaining rights because they aren’t employees

LONDON — Britain’s top court said Tuesday that riders for one of the country’s biggest meal delivery companies don’t have collective bargaining rights because they aren’t employees, a setback for gig economy workers who are pushing for better pay and working conditions.

The Supreme Court’s ruling came in a case filed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which had sought to organize the people who deliver takeout meals for Deliveroo, a rival of companies like Uber Eats and Just Eat. After Deliveroo refused to negotiate, the union appealed, arguing that the company was violating rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

But the court ruled that the right to collective bargaining applies only when there is an “employment relationship” between the workers and the company. Deliveroo riders aren’t employees because their contract gives them the “virtually unfettered right” to pass deliveries on to a substitute, the court said.

The decision is the latest in a series of U.K. court decisions that are defining labor rights in the gig economy, where companies have sought to define workers as independent contractors with few of the job protections or benefits of traditional employees. While some workers enjoy the flexibility this offers, others say they are forced to work long hours just to make ends meet, with insecure employment making it difficult to plan for the future.

In a landmark ruling in February 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers were not independent contractors under U.K. law because the company controlled