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App Drivers and Couriers Union slams TfL's "FAILURE TO ENFORCE” High Court ruling against Uber
Updated: Feb 21, 2022
The App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) have spoken out once again over what they say is Transport for London's "failure to enforce" the recent High Court ruling against Uber.
The ruling declared that all contracts for private hire transport services in the capital must be between passengers and licensed operators, not drivers.
In an open letter from ADCU General Secretary James Farrar, to Helen Chapman, Director of Licensing, Regulation and Charging and Graham Robinson, General Manager for Taxi and Private Hire Transport for London, it stated: "Contractual misclassification has been at the heart of a private hire business model reliant upon worker exploitation and tax evasion."
James went on to add: "The industry had notice of legal proceedings leading to the High Court declaration since last summer and all knew what was at stake. Yet, even though two months have passed since the ruling, Uber, Addison Lee, Bolt, Free Now and most all others continue to defy the court ruling."
James has stressed that every day that passes where the ruling is not enforced, passengers and drivers are being placed at risk and VAT is not collected.
James points towards an estimated back-payment bill from Uber that would alone be around £2billion, which coincidentally is the same amount as TfL's current budget shortage.
The letter also touches on claims that TfL are operating with double standards towards private hire drivers who face harsh regulations compared to operators who they believe are being allowed to make up their own rules.
Concluding, James has asked the following questions to Helen and Graham:
When will TfL enforce full compliance consistent with the High Court ruling so that contractual and VAT obligations can be lifted from the backs of vulnerable workers and transferred to licensed private hire operators as parliament intended?
Will Uber's compliance with the High Court ruling and their consequent obligation be enforced as a condition of license renewal as scheduled for March 2022? If not, why not?
Will TfL insist on Uber's full compliance with the Supreme Court ruling and that licensed private hire drivers are paid for all working time from log on to log off? If not, why not? Will TfL insist that all licensed operators do likewise?
