An Uber driver can be considered an employee after all. This was recently decided by the Brussels Labour Court in a case that has been dragging on for five years, the ACV United Freelancers trade union announced on Wednesday.
The case dates back to 2020, when a driver for the taxi app Uber approached the Administrative Commission for the Settlement of Labour Relations (CAR) at the Ministry of Social Security, arguing that he was not actually self-employed, but an employee, because Uber determined his terms of employment.
The CAR ruled that there was a clear relationship of subordination between the driver and Uber and that the man was therefore an employee. However, Uber appealed to the labour court in Brussels, which overturned the CAR's decision in 2022 and ruled that the driver did indeed have self-employed status.
The driver then lodged an appeal against that ruling with the labour court, which has now ruled in his favour. "The employment relationship must be regarded as that of an employment relationship in paid employment," reads the conclusion in a ruling dated 13 June. "The CAR's decision is therefore upheld." The Uber driver must therefore also be subject to the social security system for employees.
Uber v drivers
It remains to be seen what the concrete consequences of the ruling will be. This is the first case concerning the employment status of an Uber driver. At the end of 2023, there was already a similar ruling concerning Deliveroo meal delivery drivers.
According to Martin Willems of ACV United Freelancers, the driver in question has not had access to the Uber app since Friday. "So he can no longer work."
An Uber driver pictured during a protest of taxi-drivers in the centre of Brussels, Thursday 14 November 2024. Credit: Belga
"Uber could still go to the Court of Cassation to gain time," says Willems. According to him, it is now mainly a matter of waiting to see what the National Social Security Office (RSZ) will do on the basis of symbolic cases such as this one.
"We are asking the RSZ to extend the treatment of the employment relationship to all Uber drivers and meal delivery drivers for Deliveroo and Uber Eats. The RSZ has said it will investigate, but we are still waiting for a response."
As far as meal delivery drivers at Uber Eats are concerned, a similar procedure is still ongoing involving three delivery drivers who were also classified as employees by the CAR in 2024. Uber also appealed this case to the labour court in Brussels, which has yet to rule. Uber has already dismissed the three drivers, says Willems.
According to the trade unionist, an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 meal delivery drivers work for Deliveroo or Uber Eats in Belgium. As far as Uber drivers are concerned, there are around 2,000 people in the Brussels Region alone, according to Willems.
