Taxi Driver Online

Came across this via Taxi Point - it's a question in the London Assembly to the mayor from Green member Caroline Russell.

Nothing particularly new in the response here (and there have been similar questions before) but, again, maybe TfL could in fact consider matters like this in terms of 'fit and proper status'? After all, it's usually the case in many such 'fit and proper' matters that there doesn't have to be a finding of illegality by a court or tribunal or whatever for licensing authorities to consider such matters in terms of fitness and propriety

And, of course, the Government's recently announced review of the whole employment status thing brings fresh impetus to this kind of stuff, so at least it's being kept in the spotlight by questions like this to high profile politicians.


Driver and courier app companies in breach of employment law

In a 1 September 2026 letter to the App Drivers' and Couriers' Union (ADCU), the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, the Rt. Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, stated that: “Employers should never seek to deny people their employment rights and avoid their own legal obligations by claiming someone is self-employed when in reality they are not.”

The letter further confirms that where individuals are classified as workers, they are entitled to core rights including the National Minimum Wage and paid annual leave, and that that worker rights are enforceable "regardless of the business model" an employer uses.

The ADCU states that “Uber is in daily breach of the Supreme Court judgment. It continues to deny drivers’ worker status, minimum wage, and paid leave."

Are you taking any action to update regulation of driver and courier app companies operating in London to support the Government’s stance and ensure all their employees have their worker status respected?


Mayor of London's answer:

Please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2025/1014, which clarifies that drivers’ pay, employment rights, and any alleged breaches of employment law are matters for specialist tribunals, and are not areas Transport for London (TfL) regulates.

As stated in my response to Mayor’s Question 2025/2107, TfL is the licensing authority and regulator for Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) services in London. It regulates PHV services in accordance with the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998.

TfL licenses taxi vehicles and PHVs, taxi and PHV drivers, and PHV operators. It will ensure an applicant meets statutory requirements and licensing conditions before granting a licence, and that, once licensed, licensing requirements and regulations are complied with during the licence period.

Similarly, TfL does not have the powers to regulate courier app companies. Through its Vision Zero Action Plan 2, TfL is calling on Government to improve regulation of driving and riding for work, including by strengthening accountability for platform companies that engage self-employed contractors in the gig economy, and by developing dedicated health and safety regulation for work-related road risk.

https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/wh ... oyment-law

I thought this part of Taxi Point's rehash was a tad misleading, particularly the final highlighted paragraph, but can't really be bothered going into why...


But, as per usual, the whole premise of the thing is surely a bit false - why is it all about people 'working through digital platforms' as opposed to simply, er, licensed taxi and PHV drivers?