Uber drivers before the Labor Courts to have their employee status recognized
They are five. Drivers registered on the Uber platform who would like to have their employee status recognized. The American company considers them “independent”. They will be fixed on October 22.
For several months, a showdown has been underway across the world between the American company Uber and its drivers. The latter must be recognized as employees of the digital platform. The files of five drivers from Toulouse were examined this Wednesday, July 13 by the Prud’hommes.
Whether they have been sanctioned or not, the five young men, they are between 25 and 35 years old, denounce very precarious working conditions. One of them was “disconnected” from the app for 8 months for not following Uber’s recommended routes. Yet for most of these drivers it is their only source of income.
For these drivers to be recognized as employees, they must prove the relationship of subordination which binds them to the platform. And therein lies the whole difficulty. The digital labor code is very specific on this point. It must be proven that the company controls, directs and sanctions the worker.
For the lawyer of the five drivers, Christophe Marciano, the relationship between Uber and its “partners” is nevertheless clear:
For each trip, a driver chooses neither the route, nor the price, nor the customers. It is indeed a relationship of subordination!
Christophe Marciano, lawyer for the five drivers
We were able to contact one of the drivers concerned by telephone. He wishes to remain anonymous.
I’m quite a good student of Uber, but it’s not normal to be treated like that. Most of us are afraid to report Uber and not be able to work. It is not normal.
In France, in 2020, the Court of Cassation recognized this link of subordination and revealed that an Uber driver should be considered as an employee. Despite this case law, some industrial tribunals declare themselves incompetent in the face of this type of request.
The five Toulouse drivers will be fixed on October 22.