Uber facing London employment tribunal over drivers' holiday and sick pay

Taxi hire app Uber is being taken to a London employment tribunal after being accused by two of its drivers of unlawfully not offering paid leave for holidays and sickness.

The hugely popular service allows users to bypass traditional taxi vehicles, and is used by over 2 million people in London.

The test case centres around whether the drivers can be considered workers or, as Uber argues, as self-employed.

Contracted workers are entitled to such benefits as holiday pay, whereas self-employed workers have less leverage in terms of what they receive.

The hugely popular service allows users to bypass traditional taxi vehicles

The current case being brought argues that Uber does not currently ensure its drivers are paid the minimum wage or that they receive paid holiday.

General trade union GMB said during an interview with the BBC that "the issue here is not about taking away the flexibility… but the high degree of control that Uber exercises over their drivers.

"You either have employment laws that people have to follow or you don't," national secretary of the union Justin Bowden added.

Uber responded in a statement from regional general manager Jo Bertram.

"More than 30,000 people in London drive with our app and this case only involves a very small number. The main reason people choose to partner with Uber is so they can become their own boss, pick their own hours and work completely flexibly," she said.

"Many partner-drivers have left other lines of work and chosen to partner with Uber for this very reason. In fact two thirds of new partner-drivers joining the Uber platform have been referred by another partner."

The tribunal is not expected to produce a ruling on the case for several weeks.