Bolt private hire drivers follow Uber drivers to court with workers’ rights claim

Represented by law firm Leigh Day, over 12,500 drivers claim they should be recognised as workers rather than self-employed contractors running their own business and paid compensation for previous unpaid holiday pay and shortfalls in the National Living Wage. 

The Bolt drivers believe that the 2021 Supreme Court ruling that Uber drivers are workers also applies to their working situation. Leigh Day represented Uber drivers in their Supreme Court victory.

Estonian-based ride-hailing app operator Bolt is a rival to Uber and has been operating in the UK since 2019. As of April 2023, there were 100,000 Bolt drivers in the UK working across 19 cities including London, Manchester and Birmingham.  

Bolt currently treats its drivers as self-employed contractors, but Leigh Day argues that, because of the way the company operates, including the significant control it has over how the drivers work, they should be classified as workers and given the appropriate workers’ rights and protection under employment law. 

Although Bolt denies this, it has announced shortly before the hearing is due to start, that, as of 1 August 2024, its drivers will receive holiday pay and the National Living Wage, the very same rights that drivers are fighting for in their claim. However, Leigh Day will argue that the way Bolt is calculating these payments is not compliant with the current legislation. 

Despite saying that it will pay drivers holiday pay and the National Living Wage, Bolt has continued to deny that its drivers are workers, meaning that they have no right to compensation for previous unpaid holiday or shortfalls to the National Living Wage. The drivers are claiming this compensation as part of their claim. 

The Bolt drivers’ claim is due to be heard at the Central London Employment Tribunal over three weeks from Wednesday 11 September. 

The drivers are represented by Leigh Day employment team solicitor Charlotte Pettman. 

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.” 

If the claims against Bolt are successful, the company will only be legally required to compensate those who have brought a claim. 

Leigh Day is acting under a ‘no win no fee’ agreement, which means drivers do not pay anything unless their claim is successful. 

Any driver who wishes to join the claim should email bolt@leighday.co.uk or visit the Leigh Day claims page.