Over 12,500 Bolt drivers challenge employment status as tribunal begins

Over 12,500 Bolt drivers are pursuing legal action, asserting their status as workers rather than self-employed contractors. Represented by law firm Leigh Day, the drivers are seeking compensation for unpaid holiday pay and shortfalls in the National Living Wage.

The drivers argue that the 2021 Supreme Court ruling, which declared Uber drivers as workers, should also apply to their situation. Leigh Day, who secured the win for Uber drivers, is now advocating for Bolt drivers in a similar case.

Bolt, a rival to Uber, has been operating in the UK since 2019. By April 2023, the Estonian-based firm had 100,000 drivers across 19 UK cities, including London, Manchester, and Birmingham. The company currently treats its drivers as self-employed, but Leigh Day argues Bolt exercises significant control over them, which warrants their classification as workers under UK employment law.

In the lead-up to the hearing, Bolt has announced plans to introduce holiday pay and the National Living Wage for its drivers from 1 August 2024. Despite this, the company denies its drivers are workers, leaving no avenue for compensation for previous unpaid entitlements. Leigh Day will argue that Bolt’s method for calculating the new payments does not align with current legal requirements.

The case will be heard at the Central London Employment Tribunal over three weeks, starting Wednesday 11 September.

Charlotte Pettman said: “Following the ruling by the Supreme Court in 2021 that Uber drivers are workers with the rights that this status brings, thousands of Bolt drivers believe that they too are workers and not self-employed contractors. Over the next three weeks, the Employment Tribunal will hear about the Bolt drivers’ working conditions and decide whether they are workers and entitled to compensation for unpaid holiday pay and shortfalls to the National Living Wage.”