Employment relationships, as they are known by the Uber transport service, harbor “a high risk of precariousness” for certain people. This is how the Federal Council recorded it on Wednesday. So he sees a great danger of impoverishing people who drive for Uber.
The state government takes this as an opportunity – to do nothing! The Federal Council refrains from even examining the options for action proposed to it in a report. So it should not be regulated whether Uber drivers are self-employed entrepreneurs or employees.
But if it were certain that Uber is the employer of its drivers, the company would have to pay social security contributions for its employees. The drivers would then also benefit from vacation and they would benefit from continued wages in the event of illness.
Taxi and food via app
With Uber, customers can order taxi services via the mobile phone app and order food deliveries from the Uber Eats service. When students chauffeur passengers through Zurich or bring food from Indian to customers in addition to their studies, but find a well-paid job after graduation, it is less important what the employment relationship was at Uber before.
However, if a poorly educated father or a single mother has to cover the household income with the Uber job, then it is crucial whether the person is employed or not.
Case in Zurich court
So it’s not surprising that Uber’s employment relationships have preoccupied the courts for years. But so far, even going to the federal court has not provided any clarification. At the end of March, the federal court ruled that Uber Switzerland was not the employer of the Uber drivers. If necessary, the AHV contributions would have to be paid by an Uber domicile abroad, should this prove to be an employer.
According to the Zurich Social Insurance Agency (SVA), the proceedings are now pending at the Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich. The court must clarify whether Uber drivers are self-employed or employed. Only if the social security court should come to the conclusion that there is a dependent activity, the question of who is the employer of the Uber driver in Switzerland would arise. And because there are still opportunities to appeal against court decisions, everything is dragging on.
SVA Zurich is responsible for Uber cases throughout Switzerland. It collects social security contributions for all Uber drivers in the country, regardless of where they live. To ensure that social security contributions do not expire, SVA Zurich has taken the necessary measures on the basis of the information available and wages that are customary in the industry so that the claim against Uber does not expire.
Commission versus hourly wages
But more and more dissatisfaction is spreading among the Uber competition. Because, as the industry says, it is of particular benefit to Uber Eats that neither politicians nor the courts quickly provide clarification. With its market power, it is increasingly pushing competitors to the edge.
While the drivers at Uber work on commission, other couriers pay hourly wages. The only difference is that when a particularly large number of orders come in, as on the weekend, many prefer to go out for Uber food. At times when there is little going on, the couriers like to work on an hourly rate. In the end, that hardly works out for the Uber competition, according to the industry.
The correct lose
This is also confirmed by David Roth (36) from the Syndicom union: “Our legal system plays Uber in the cards. The globally active company will exhaust all legal remedies with us in order to postpone a final court judgment for as long as possible. ” Because it’s worth it, as Uber Eats shows: The food delivery service is now active in almost 250 cities and the company is continuing to grow.
“Our impression is that companies that employ couriers correctly are currently losing market share,” says Roth. “Sooner or later, the competition will have to give up – and we have a monopoly who does not accept decent working conditions, neither wants to pay fair wages, nor wants to pay social security contributions,” he fears.
For the unionist it is clear: “Our courts must learn to work faster. Otherwise decisions will be superfluous because illegal behavior has already won. “
A courier is a postman
But not only employee representatives and parts of the food industry are calling for a regulation. The Federal Postal Commission, Postcom, also wants one. For them, a food courier who picks up a pizza in a pizzeria and brings it to the customer is a mail carrier. As a result, Postcom delivery services are a reportable postal company.
After Postcom 2020 had already ruled that Uber Eats had to submit to its authority, a corresponding order was recently received against Just Eat (formerly Eat.ch). But like Uber, Just Eat is resisting it. By subordinating the food couriers to the Postcom, many problems could be solved. For example, a collective employment contract (GAV) should then also be applied, which would provide drivers with particularly good protection.