(Reuters) – Deliveroo food delivery workers do not have the right to be represented by a union for collective bargaining purposes, Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) had attempted to represent a group of Deliveroo delivery workers to negotiate pay and working conditions with the company.
The IWGB was first refused permission in 2017, on the grounds that the delivery workers were not “employees” within the meaning of British employment law, and subsequently appealed several times.
The union took its case to the UK’s highest court in April, arguing that refusing collective bargaining amounted to unlawful interference with delivery workers’ human rights.
The Supreme Court, however, unanimously rejected the IWGB’s appeal in a ruling on Tuesday.
Announcing the court’s decision, Justice Vivien Rose said that because Deliveroo delivery workers did not have an “employment relationship” with Deliveroo, they were not entitled to compulsory collective bargaining.
The Supreme Court noted in its judgment that Deliveroo delivery drivers can appoint a replacement to make a delivery, that they can work for competitors, that they are not obliged to work at specific times and that they are not also not obliged to make deliveries.
These characteristics of the relationship between Deliveroo and its deliverers are “fundamentally incompatible with any notion of an employment relationship”.
“UK courts have repeatedly confirmed at all levels that Deliveroo drivers are self-employed, and this now includes the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country,” commented a Deliveroo spokesperson.
“This is a positive ruling for Deliveroo delivery workers, who enjoy the flexibility that self-employment offers,” he added.
For Colin Leckey, a lawyer at Lewis Silkin who represents Deliveroo, the decision provides reassurance to platforms that rely on this type of flexible operating model.
“The question of whether these people are ’employees’ under domestic law had long been resolved in Deliveroo’s favor, and now the human rights arguments have also been conclusively decided in favor of Deliveroo. business,” he said.
The IWGB said in a statement that the decision was disappointing and that it was reviewing its options.
“Whether or not it is reflected in legislation, more and more couriers are joining the union and building our collective power to take action and hold companies like Deliveroo to account,” the union added.
“Our strength lies not in court decisions, but in our unity as a workforce coming together to demand change.”
(Reporting by Sam Tobin, with contributions from Paul Sandle, French version by Stéphanie Hamel, editing by Kate Entringer)
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