Uber Says It Has 'No Plans' To Hire Drivers After Dutch Court Ruling

Uber says it has no plans to hire new drivers in the Netherlands after a Dutch court ruled Monday that they are employees and not contractors. The decision means Uber’s drivers in the country would be entitled to greater workers’ rights than if they remained classified as contractors.

In its ruling, the Amsterdam District Court sided with the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV) against the ride-hailing pioneer. The court said that the 4,600 Uber drivers in the capital are employees of a taxi company and that the “legal relationship” between Uber and drivers met all the characteristics of an employment contract.

The judge in the case did not stop there, adding that in some cases Uber driers may be entitled to some back pay and ordered the company to pay a $58,940 fine for failing to implement the terms of the labor agreement for taxi drivers. Uber disagreed with the ruling soon after it was released and vowed to appeal.

“We are disappointed with this decisison because we know that the overwhelming majority of drivers wish to remain independent,” said Uber’s general manager for northern Europe Maurits Schonfield, according to Reuters. “Drivers don’t want to give up their freedom to choose if, when and where to work.”

The FNV praised the ruling as a victory for Dutch Uber drivers.

"This statement shows what we have been saying for years: Uber is an employer and the drivers are employees, so Uber must adhere to the collective labor agreement for Taxi Transport," Zakaria Boufangacha, the FNV vice president, said in a statement.

“The Uber drivers are now automatically employed by Uber,” he continued.

Uber has been under growing pressure in the U.S. and Europe for its employment model.

On Aug. 20, a California judge struck down a ballot measure that exempted gig workers from being classified as employees, which would have entitled them to benefits and job protections. Uber similarly rejected this ruling, too, arguing that it "defies both logic and the law" that ignored the will of voters.

A lawsuit is also currently working through the court system in Massachusetts, where the company is backing a ballot measure that would classify drivers under state law as gig workers, not full-time employees.

On Feb. 21, the U.K.’s Supreme Court also ruled that Uber drivers were employees and not contractors. It rejected an argument by Uber that its drivers were self-employed and it simply acted as an agency connecting them to customers.

On Friday, a court in France ordered Uber to pay taxi drivers and their federation $213,000 after a ruling that found it engaged in unfair competition practices.