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disputes between drivers and the a platform linking self-employed It found that Uber had control over
company to be arbitrated in the drivers with riders, a model which the driver by his connection to the
Netherlands, at an upfront cost of allows for avoidance of certain taxes app which directs him to clients,
AUS$20,900. and social charges as well as paid and thus should not be considered
vacations. an independent contractor but an
But the top court said arbitration employee.
was "out of reach for him and other However that practice, which
drivers in his position." underpins the gig economy that Heller no longer works for Uber.
employs 1.7 million Canadians or
"His contractual rights are, as a 8.2 percent of the workforce, has But his court victory is seen as
result, illusory," it said. increasingly come under legal attack another step toward recognition of
in many countries. gig economy workers as employees,
The Supreme Court also agreed with rather than contractors.
the Ontario Appeals' Court that said In March, a French court ruled in a
the arbitration scheme amounted to similar case against Uber's appeal of
an illegal outsourcing of employment a 2019 decision that a former driver
standards. who sued the firm effectively had a
work contract.
Uber has long argued it is merely

DRIVE A2B magazine · www.drivea2b.com.au · July 2020 33