Thousands of Bolt taxi drivers could be entitled to compensation, lawyers sayhttps://morningstaronline.co.uk/article ... awyers-sayTENS of thousands of Bolt taxi drivers could be entitled to compensation after years without holiday pay and the national living wage, according to lawyers.
Law firm Leigh Day said today that more than 1,600 drivers working for Bolt should be treated as workers and given the rights that come with that status.
Bolt currently treats its drivers as self-employed contractors, but Leigh Day argues that, because of the way the company operates, they should be classed as workers.
This comes after the Supreme Court ruled last year that Uber drivers should be classified as workers and given workers’ rights.
Estonian-based company Bolt operates a similar business model to Uber. There are currently 65,000 Bolt drivers working across 14 cities including London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Omar Ayad, a London-based Bolt driver, said: “Driving for Bolt is my main source of income but it’s hard to support my family on the money I make, even though I work long hours.
“Bolt says us drivers are self-employed but it can suspend our accounts so how can that be?
“Getting workers’ rights would make a big difference to me, especially with the price of everything going up. It’s stressful worrying about if I’ll earn enough money to pay all my bills each month.”
The claim is being supported by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB).
IWGB president Alex Marshall said: “Drivers working for Bolt value flexibility, but they are currently denied basic rights and protections.
“Like Uber has done in the past, Bolt uses the wrongful misclassification of workers as an excuse for forcing drivers to work without holiday pay, guaranteed minimum earnings and other rights.
“The launch of these legal claims follow a series of landmark legal challenges across the gig economy as workers are standing up to unfair employment practices that leave them without a secure income or the ability to take paid leave.”
Mr Marshal added: “Limb (b) worker status ensures that drivers have these basic rights while continuing to work flexibly, and it would represent a major step towards creating a fairer gig-economy for everybody.”
Charlotte Pettman, a solicitor in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: “Leigh Day is confident that Bolt drivers should be given worker status and the rights this affords. Already, the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Uber drivers in their workers’ rights claims.”
Bolt has been invited to comment.
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