# Self-employed or employed drivers? Worker status after the Uber ruling

> Most taxi and private hire drivers in England are treated as self-employed, but the label in the contract doesn't decide it. In Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 the Supreme Court held Uber's London drivers were workers, because Uber set the fares and the terms and controlled the work. Workers get the minimum wage, £12.71 an hour at 21 and over from April 2026, and 5.6 weeks' paid holiday.

By Joe, founder of Dispatch AI. Updated 2026-10-12. The web page: https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/self-employed-or-employed-taxi-drivers/

Are taxi drivers self-employed? Most are treated that way, but since the Supreme Court's Uber judgment in 2021 the answer for your firm depends on how the work really runs, not on what the contract says. This guide explains what the court decided, what "worker" means in law, what it costs a firm, and the questions to ask about your own arrangements. It's general information, not legal advice: for your own contracts, see an employment solicitor.


## Are taxi drivers self-employed or workers?

Employment law has three main categories: employee, worker and self-employed. Each one carries different rights, and a driver can fall into any of them depending on the facts.

Self-employment is the norm in the trade. The House of Commons Transport Committee, using Department for Transport figures, reported that 89% of taxi and private hire drivers in England were self-employed in 2024, up from 76% in 2010. But that's how drivers are classed, mostly for tax. A tribunal asked about employment rights looks at the real relationship, and gov.uk is plain that "a person may have a different employment status in tax law".


## What did the Supreme Court decide in Uber v Aslam?

Uber BV and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5 was decided on 19 February 2021. Lord Leggatt gave the judgment, and the other five justices who decided the case agreed with him. The court upheld the employment tribunal's finding that Uber's London drivers worked for Uber London under workers' contracts, so they were entitled to the national minimum wage, paid holiday and other workers' rights.

Two parts of the reasoning matter to any operator.

First, the written contract isn't the starting point. The court said treating it as the starting point would "reinstate the mischief" the legislation was passed to prevent, because the firm usually writes the terms and the driver can't negotiate them. The question is the true relationship. The Employment Rights Act 1996 also makes void any clause that tries to exclude or limit its protection.

Second, the court picked out five facts from the tribunal's findings:

| What the court looked at | What Uber did | The question for your firm |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the pay | Uber set the fares and its own service fee; drivers had no say | Who sets the fare and the commission? |
| Who writes the terms | Drivers had to accept Uber's standard terms | Can a driver negotiate anything? |
| Freedom to turn down work | Drivers who refused or cancelled too many trips were warned, then logged off for ten minutes | What happens when a driver says no? |
| Control of the service | Uber vetted the cars, its app directed drivers to each pickup and destination, and it used passenger ratings to warn and remove drivers | Do you discipline drivers on ratings or complaints? |
| Contact with passengers | Uber stopped drivers building their own relationship with passengers | Can a driver build their own customers? |

The court also decided when the drivers were working: whenever they were logged into the app in London, within the area their licence covered, and ready and willing to accept trips. That's the time that counts for the minimum wage and working time, not only the time with a passenger in the car.


## What does worker status give a driver?

A worker gets a set of legal rights that a genuinely self-employed person doesn't. Gov.uk lists them, and the figures below are the current rates.

| Right | Employee | Worker | Self-employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| National minimum wage | Yes | Yes | No |
| Paid holiday, 5.6 weeks a year | Yes | Yes | No |
| Rest breaks and limits on average weekly hours | Yes | Yes | No |
| Automatic enrolment in a workplace pension | Yes, if eligible | Yes, if eligible | No |
| Protection from unfair dismissal | Yes | Usually no | No |
| Statutory redundancy pay and notice | Yes | Usually no | No |

The national minimum wage from 1 April 2026 is £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20 and £8.00 under 18. The paid holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks is 28 days for someone working five days a week. A driver with irregular hours builds the leave up as they work, based on the hours already worked, for leave years starting from 1 April 2024, and still gets up to 5.6 weeks. A workplace pension is automatic for a worker aged between 22 and State Pension age who earns at least £10,000 a year and works in the UK.

For a driver paid by the job, the minimum wage sum covers the hours that count as working time, which in the Uber case meant logged-on time, not just time with a passenger.


## Does the Uber ruling apply to a local taxi firm?

The judgment decided the status of Uber's London drivers on the facts the tribunal found in 2016. It isn't a rule that every private hire driver is a worker. But the test the court used applies to any firm, and a tribunal would ask the same questions about yours.

The court said "a particularly important consideration is who determines the price charged to the passenger." It contrasted Uber with booking platforms for hotels, where each supplier sets its own price, offers its own service and competes for customers. Those suppliers run independent businesses. Uber's drivers didn't.

Three points from the judgment catch licensed operators in particular:

- Controls that the licensing rules force on you still count. The court said the fact that some of Uber's controls were needed to comply with the regulations was no reason to give them less weight.
- Freedom to choose when to work doesn't make someone self-employed. Uber's drivers could log on when they liked and still were workers while logged on.
- Working for more than one operator can matter. Whether a logged-on driver is "at the disposal" of one firm, if they're genuinely available to others at the same time, is "a matter of fact and degree".

The government's own checklist for employers points the same way. It describes workers as people who "only have a limited right or no effective right to send someone else to do the work", while the self-employed "can negotiate the price for the work". Licensing authorities don't decide employment status. The Department for Transport's best practice guidance says only the courts can, but where a tribunal has ruled on an operator's drivers, whether the operator complies can count in the council's "fit and proper" test.


## Is tax status the same as employment status?

No. Status for tax is decided separately from status for employment rights. Gov.uk says HMRC may treat someone as self-employed for tax even if their status under employment law is different. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool gives HMRC's view for tax only, and HMRC says it "will stand by all results given by the tool" as long as the information you give is accurate.

So a driver can be self-employed for tax, paying their own tax and National Insurance, and still be a worker with a right to the minimum wage and holiday pay. Our guide to [tax for a taxi business](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/tax-for-a-taxi-business/) covers the tax side.


## How do you set up driver arrangements you can defend?

Start from what really happens, then decide what you're prepared to change.

1. Write down how a driver gets work from you, day to day: who sets fares, how jobs are offered, what happens when one is refused.
2. Make the contract match that reality. A clause that says "self-employed" over arrangements that look like Uber's won't carry weight.
3. Decide which controls you need for safety and licensing, and which are habit.
4. If you want drivers to be self-employed, give them real choices: turning down jobs without penalty, working for other operators, and real say over price where that's possible.
5. If your arrangements look like worker status, budget for it: the minimum wage on working time, holiday pay and pension contributions.
6. Keep records of driver hours and logged-on time.
7. Take advice from an employment solicitor before you change contracts across the fleet.

Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms. With any system that sends jobs to drivers, how you set it up, who gets offered which job and what happens when a driver says no, is part of the evidence a tribunal would weigh. The same choices shape [keeping good drivers](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/taxi-driver-retention/) and [recruiting drivers](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/taxi-driver-recruitment/), and the [starting a taxi firm guides](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/topics/start-a-taxi-company/) cover the rest of the set-up.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the Uber ruling mean every minicab driver is a worker?

No. It decided the status of Uber's London drivers on the facts the tribunal found. Each firm's drivers are judged on their own arrangements, using the same questions about pay, terms, control and freedom to refuse work.

### When is a driver working, for minimum wage purposes?

In the Uber case, from the moment a driver was logged into the app in their licensed area and ready and willing to take trips. The court said the answer could differ if drivers were genuinely available to other operators at the same time.

### Can a contract clause make a driver self-employed?

Not on its own. The Supreme Court said the written contract isn't the starting point, and the Employment Rights Act 1996 makes void any term that tries to exclude or limit its protection. What counts is how the work really runs.

### Who decides a driver's employment status?

Employment tribunals and the courts decide status for employment rights. HMRC decides it for tax, and its online tool gives its view. The Department for Transport's guidance says licensing authorities don't decide it.


## Sources

- [Uber BV and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5, judgment (The Supreme Court)](https://supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc_2019_0029_judgment_19c9de2253.pdf) paragraphs 35, 76 to 79, 92 to 104 and 130 to 137
- [Uber BV and others v Aslam and others, case page (The Supreme Court)](https://supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2019-0029) judgment date and justices
- [Employment status: worker (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker) definition and rights
- [Employment status (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/employment-status) the categories, and different status in tax law
- [Employment status: self-employed and contractor (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/selfemployed-contractor) self-employed for tax
- [Employment status and rights: checklist for employers and other engagers (Department for Business and Trade)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-status-and-employment-rights/employment-status-and-rights-checklist-for-employers-and-other-engagers) indicators of worker and self-employed status
- [National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates) rates from April 2026
- [Holiday entitlement (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights) 5.6 weeks, and accrual for irregular hours from April 2024
- [Workplace pensions: joining a workplace pension (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/joining-a-workplace-pension) automatic enrolment conditions
- [Check employment status for tax (HMRC)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax) what the CEST tool covers
- [Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: best practice guidance (Department for Transport)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-licensing-best-practice-guidance/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-licensing-best-practice-guidance-for-licensing-authorities-in-england) section 7.6, compliance with employment law
- [Raising the standard: licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles, HC 80 (House of Commons Transport Committee)](https://api.parliament.uk/committees/publications/53519) paragraph 3, self-employment among drivers

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