App Drivers & Couriers Union(ADCU) win landmark ruling that changes the landscape of the private hire vehicle sector

Written by Cloisters

Image of Claire McCann

The High Court handed down an important judgment on Friday 28th July in the case of Uber Britannia Limited v Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council & Ors, confirming that a passenger enters into a contract of hire with the minicab operator not the driver. 

In so concluding, the Court (Foster J) recognised that drivers are subordinate to the minicab operator who is in a much better position to promote passenger safety. This serves to advance the key safety objective of the regulatory regime and thus supported an interpretation of the statutory regime that the contract for hire is between passenger and operator. 

Foster J also acknowledged that, in those cases where the driver provides driving services to the minicab operator under a worker or employee contract, this also increases the opportunities to advance passenger safety through the framework of worker rights protections (such as working time and holiday pay rights). 

The Court accordingly accepted the key submissions made by Claire McCann on behalf of the ADCU (the App Drivers & Couriers Union), as one of the Interested Parties.

The Judgment can be found here.

The  ADCU's blog about this important case is here:

Claire was instructed by William Kenyon of ITN Solicitors on behalf of the ADCU.