Supreme Court bans Deliveroo drivers from unionising
Source: Wikimedia
Last week, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that Deliveroo does not have to engage in collective bargaining with unions, a pivotal decision for more than 50,000 riders in the country and gig workers in general.
This was the culmination of seven years of litigation led by the Independent Worker’s Union of Great Britain. After the Central Arbitration Committee verdict in 2016, IWGB had appealed several times. The Supreme Court’s ruling was the final blow.
The Supreme Court unanimously rejected IWGB’s claims that gig riders fall under the scope of Article 11 of the 1998 European Convention on Human Rights. The article guarantees the right of workers to form or join a trade union to employees and compels companies to recognise them. However, this however was ruled to be unapplicable to Deliveroo drivers, as they were judged to not be in a situation of employment.
The Supreme Court declared several reasons to demonstrate riders were self-employed: riders are free to decline deliveries and work for competitors and do not have strict working hours, a required working time nor a required workplace.
Whilst riders are allowed to join a union such as IWGB, Deliveroo is not legally required to engage in collective bargaining with it. In 2022, the online food delivery company had reached an agreement with the GMB union.
The decision comes at an important time for Deliveroo and other similar companies such as Uber Eats and Just Eat as the EU Parliament is discussing new rules for gig workers. Almost a year ago, Deliveroo ceased operations in Spain following new laws about collective bargaining.
Deliveroo praised the Supreme Court’s decision as “a positive judgment for Deliveroo riders, who value the flexibility that self-employed work offers”.
IWGB stated in response that “Flexibility, including the option for account substitution, is no reason to strip workers of basic entitlements like fair pay and collective bargaining rights.”