The ruling by the Zurich social insurance court, published on Thursday, says that the “marked subordination” in the relation between Uber and its drivers means that it is one of dependence between an employer and an employee.
As such, Uber must pay social contributions for drivers, the court said: in this case – brought by the company against the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (Suva) and the Zurich social security services – it faces retroactive payments, including interest, of some CHF5.2 million ($5.64 million) for the year 2014.
What’s more, although the case in question refers to the now-disappeared from Switzerland UberPop service (a cheaper and less professionalised version), the verdict clearly refers to all categories of Uber drivers.
The US company argues that those who work using its app maintain control over when they work and which clients they take: the verdict also “ignores the fact that the majority of drivers in Switzerland want to remain independent”, it told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper.
