Ruling on November 14, 2018
Authority: Employment Appeal Tribunal
Parties: Addison Lee Ltd / Lange
Subject: Right to holiday pay and minimum wage for Addison Lee drivers.
Summary of facts: Addison Lee is a courier company with drivers who operate within a relatively small geographical area in London with fast delivery to customers, usually within an hour. Mr. de Lange and other plaintiffs were drivers at Addison Lee. Each driver signs both a rental agreement of the vehicle and a driver agreement. The agreement stated that the drivers were unresponsive and that they were not an employee, agent or partner of Addison Lee. They filed claims against Addison Lee and claimed holiday pay and the national minimum wage conforming the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. The Employment Tribunal ruled that the drivers qualify as ""limb (b) workers"" for the purposes of these laws, and are thus entitled to holiday pay and the minimum wage. Addison Lee is appealing against this decision.
Legal question: Do Addison Lee's drivers qualify as employees within the scope of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage 1998?
Considerations: It is noted that this is the kind of case where a tribunal has to examine whether the written contract reflects the agreed factual conditions. Based on the factual circumstances, the tribunal concludes that the drivers do indeed qualify as employees within the scope of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage 1998s. The factual circumstances included that the new drivers received training and documentation indicating how to do the work, that they received codes of conduct and guidelines, that the drivers hired the vehicles from the platform, that the drivers were given a computer with which it was possible to trace them, that the drivers were obliged to accept individual bookings, that Addison Lee set the rate of which the drivers had no knowledge at the start of the trip and where no negotiations were permitted, that Addison Lee promised no minimum amount of work, but the drivers were informed that the average driver worked 50-60 hours per week.
Ruling: The Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed the appeal on the ground that, on the basis of the factual circumstances, there was an employee within the meaning of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.