The cityscaping taxi hire service Uber has been taken to court by two of its own drivers in its first ever UK legal battle.
The drivers, who will be heard at a London employment tribunal, claim that Uber is acting unlawfully by not offering holiday and sick pay.
Uber is used by two million people alone in London, and allows customers to hire a cab directly through an app.
The drivers will succeed if the tribunal rules them to be workers, rather than self-employed or freelancers.
According to legal definitions, workers are given similar rights to employees and are therefore entitled to holiday pay, sickness pay and are protected from unlawful deductions from their pay.
Their bid for standard workers’ rights, including minimum wage, mandatory breaks, paid holiday and leave, could set a precedent for future claims and some 30,000 Uber drivers currently operating in London.
“A successful claim against Uber could have wide ramifications for a range of workers in various industry sectors”, said a representative for the drivers.
“These test cases will not only determine a further 17 claims that have been brought against Uber but will have wider implications for the tens of thousands of Uber drivers”.
Likely to be presented in Uber’s defence is an opinion poll carried out by the firm, which found that the top reason drivers use their app is for “complete flexibility and control”.
“The issue here is not about taking away the flexibility… but the high degree of control that Uber exercises over their drivers” said Justin Bowden, national secretary of the GMB union, speaking to the BBC.
“You either have employment laws that people have to follow or you don’t.”
Uber has spanned from a tiny start up to a company now worth £50 billion, operating out of 450 cities from 70 countries.