Law firm Leigh Day has announced that it is taking taxi operator Veezu to employment tribunal to contest workers’ employment status and pay terms.
The firm represents up to 12,500 taxi drivers who work for Veezu, which owns more than a dozen local taxi organisations using booking apps across England and Wales.
Veezu drivers are currently considered self-employed contractors, however they claim they should be treated as workers and given appropriate rights and protection under employment law. Leigh Day argues that the way Veezu operates, which includes allocating drivers’ jobs, fixing their rates and penalising them for declining jobs, means drivers qualify as workers, and they could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation relating to holiday pay and any shortfalls between their pay and the national minimum wage.
The law firm stated that this claim is similar to its ongoing worker status claim against taxi organisation Bolt, and believes that given the similarities in how drivers at the two firms work, there is a strong case that Veezu drivers should be classified as workers and receive compensation. If the claims are successful, Veezu will only be legally required to compensate those who have brought a claim.
Gabriel Morrison, one of the solicitors in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: “We strongly believe that Veezu drivers should be treated as workers for the organisation and given the appropriate rights and protection under employment law. As with other similar claims, we are confident that we will ultimately be able to help Veezu drivers achieve workers’ rights. All taxi and delivery employers using this type of business model should be aware that they cannot continue to short-change their hard-working drivers.”
A Veezu spokesperson added: “We have not received any formal notice about these claims and we are confident that our position on the status of the driver partners operating via Veezu is lawful.”
This follows the Supreme Court ruling that Uber drivers, who were also represented by Leigh Day, should be classified as workers and given rights.