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The UK Court of Appeal has dismissed IWGB union’s appeal against prior judgements that found Deliveroo drivers to be self-employed.
The verdict in favour of Deliveroo’s self-employment system for its workers was unanimous, with all three judges agreeing without dissenting opinions.
One judge described the verdict that riders are not in an employment relationship with Deliveroo as “inevitable”.
This is the fourth court judgement in the UK which has found Deliveroo drivers to be self-employed, following a judgment by the Central Arbitration Committee and a further two which had previously taken place at the High Court.
A spokesperson for Deliveroo stated that today’s (24 June 2021) judgement was good news for its riders and marked an “important milestone”.
They said: “Our message to riders is clear. We will continue to back your right to work the way you want and we will continue to listen to you and respond to the things that matter to you most.
“Those campaigning to remove riders’ flexibility do not speak for the vast majority of riders and seek to impose a way of working that riders do not want. Deliveroo will continue to campaign for companies like ours to be able to offer the full flexibility of self employment along with greater benefits and more security.”
Back in April, thousands of Deliveroo riders held protests across the UK, demanding a living wage and better safety protections.
Alex Marshall, president at IWGB, said: “It appears that when Deliveroo talk about flexibility and being your own boss, it is talking about the flexibility of choosing when to make poverty wages and work in unsafe conditions.
“The judgment recognises that riders would benefit from organising collectively to represent their interests and admits the conclusion reached in the judgment might seem counter intuitive.”
He added: “We will now consider our legal position, but one thing is for sure: we will continue to grow in numbers and fight on the streets until Deliveroo give these key worker heroes the pay and conditions they more than deserve.”
