Uber, the US ride hailing company, announced on 24 September that it will set up a pension fund with auto-enrolment for its 70,000 drivers in the UK. This unprecedented move comes after the country’s Supreme Court ruling in February of this year, which said Uber drivers should be classed as workers as opposed to self-employed and should therefore enjoy certain rights (see article n°12369). However, the US tech giant seems keen to go beyond what the ruling requires and redefine its corporate policy more broadly since it has, in the wake of its decision, invited competitors in the gig economy to follow in its footsteps.
Through the new scheme, Uber will pay 3% of each driver’s earnings into a pension pot. The drivers, who are auto-enrolled into the scheme, as is required in the UK, may choose how much they pay into the pension pot, above a minimum of 5% of earnings. The pension scheme has been set up by provided by NOW: Pensions and is to be managed by Adecco. Press reports indicate that millions of pounds are set to be paid retroactively into the scheme, with Uber and the UK pensions regulator having...
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