Bolt Drivers Secure “Employee” Status and the Rights That Come with It

Rewriting how their employment status is perceived in the UK, Bolt drivers have won their employee rights and can expect to receive over £200 million as a part of the proceedings. An employment tribunal ruled in favor of awarding the Bolt drivers the right to receive employee benefits as opposed to their current status of “self-employed contractors” with their own business.

Over 15,000 current and former Bolt drivers took legal action against the company, with the proceedings leading to a 3-week employment tribunal in London back in September. After looking at the data and listening to Bolt’s claim that these workers had chosen to remain “self-employed independent contractors,” the tribunal voted that the alleged contract between the Bolt driver and the passenger was “a fiction designed by Bolt.”

Image: Bolt offers a range of opportunities for workers interested in flexible work opportunities.

Bolt Drivers Win Employee Rights and Monetary Compensation

Around 15,000 Bolt drivers, represented by law firm Leigh Day, turned to legal action to demand that Bolt acknowledge them as employees and compensate them accordingly. The rise of the gig economy has introduced many new formats of work, and while this has come with a certain amount of flexibility for those who choose to participate in the system, there have been no regulations to clearly define their employment status and the benefits they are owed.

Even those workers who participate in food delivery or ride-hailing work full-time do not see the kind of compensation another employee at a different organization might see. This work does not come with the guarantee of any benefits or perks along with their job, making it harder for employees to continue participating in the workforce.

Now, thousands of Bolt drivers have secured employee rights that will help them find fair compensation and protection under employment laws. Workers’ rights to claim holidays are also now within their reach. The Bolt drivers’ employment win also comes with more than £200 million in compensation, which will be divided between the drivers.

The ruling isn’t just limited to the 15,000 workers who initiated the legal proceedings. Instead, the Bolt worker status is expected to affect all of its employees in the UK, referring to the “100,000-plus drivers who take on work through the Bolt private hire hailing app,” according to Leigh Day. 

Bolt has not responded to the ruling and is said to be looking into its options. This includes the possibility that it is exploring grounds for filing an appeal against the decision. 

The Bolt Drivers’ £200M Victory Does Not Come Without Conditions

Bolt claimed that the drivers have chosen to remain “self-employed independent contractors” and the company has always been supportive of their decision to do so. Unfortunately for them, the tribunal found the decision-making power was largely held by Bolt.

According to BBC, the tribunal stated that “the supposed contract between the Bolt driver and the passenger is a fiction designed by Bolt—and in particular its lawyers—to defeat the argument that it has an employer/worker relationship with the driver.” This case, as well as other similar ones before it, mark a shift in how we perceive gig work and the regulations that prevail around.

While the Bolt worker rights ruling is a big win for the employees, it does not come without conditions. The employment tribunal’s rulings were limited to workers who solely worked with Bolt and were not “multi-apping.” 

Considering the flexible nature of the work, many workers—nine in 10 Bolt drivers according to the company—work with multiple different apps simultaneously to make the most of their time out on the job. It can be unfair to expect the employers of each app to provide employment benefits separately, so drivers who use multiple apps to find customers cannot expect the same level of benefits. 

The UK Supreme Court awarded Uber drivers a similar “employee” status back in 2021, ruling that these workers were not contractors or self-employed and that they should be entitled to holidays and minimum wage. Seeing the Bolt case follow the same path does suggest that companies that want to benefit from the gig economy should look to ensure they guarantee employee benefits and rights to their workers. 

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