Uber to Begin Rolling Out Pensions to 70,000 UK Drivers

More than seven months after the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers are not self-employed and thus are entitled to a retirement savings plan, the ride-sharing firm said it will begin offering pensions to its 70,000 drivers working in the country.

The move will cost the ride-sharing firm millions of pounds in missed pension payments that stretch back as far as 2107. The company had previously deemed its drivers independent self-employed contractors, part of an ongoing struggle in the US and elsewhere with drivers and other gig workers seeking full-time status. Under UK law, workplace pensions are mandatory for all employers.

Uber’s UK drivers will be automatically enrolled in a pension plan provided by NOW: Pensions and managed by human resources (HR) provider and temporary staffing firm Adecco. Uber will contribute 3% of a driver’s earnings into a pension plan, while drivers can choose to contribute a minimum of 5% of qualifying earnings. Eligible drivers will be able to opt-out.

Uber was quick to point out that its rival ride-sharing companies in the country have yet to offer a pension plan to their drivers.

“We want to ensure that all eligible drivers can benefit no matter who they earn with,” said Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager of Northern and Eastern Europe, said in a statement. “So today I am extending an invitation to work with operators such as Bolt, Addison Lee, and Ola to create a cross-industry pension scheme.”

In May, Uber signed a trade union recognition deal with GMB Union, under which the union will represent as many as 70,000 drivers. According to Uber and GMB, Uber drivers account for less than one-quarter of all the ride-sharing and private hire drivers in the UK, which they peg at more than 300,000.

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