The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment that has classified four Uber drivers as employees, a ruling that has sent shockwaves through New Zealand’s gig economy and prompted urgent calls for the Government to abandon its planned Employment Relations Amendment Bill.
The decision has been welcomed by unions and workers, while employer groups have warned the ruling could destabilise long standing contracting models used across the country.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association said today’s judgment has forced a modern work model into outdated law. Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald said the ruling showed that current legislation cannot deal with platform work. He said the Supreme Court relied on precedents set before gig style work existed, and although the four drivers met tests that supported employee status, there were also strong arguments that aligned with contractor arrangements.
McDonald said this uncertainty is at the heart of platform based work and that the now delayed Employment Relations Amendment Bill was meant to offer clarity. He said more legal claims are likely before any legislative update arrives.
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich said the ruling could have far reaching consequences and warned it could cause the collapse of parts of the gig economy. She said many consumers rely on gig based services and that these businesses depend on contractor models to operate. She also expressed concern that tradespeople, creative workers and IT contractors who value flexibility could be caught by an overly rigid legal environment.
Workers First Union has celebrated the judgment after a four year battle involving four original claimants and extensive court action across three judicial tiers. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Uber’s appeal and found that factors supporting employee status outweighed those against it.
Deputy Secretary Anita Rosentreter said the ruling was a significant moment for workers who have faced what she described as exploitation by gig based companies. She said the four drivers who launched the original claim had remained united through a long and difficult process and that the outcome would allow thousands of drivers to pursue wage arrears and other entitlements.
The four drivers, Nureddin Abdurahman, Julian Ang, Bill Rama and Lalogafau Meaole Keil, expressed relief and pride at the decision. Abdurahman said it confirmed what drivers had always believed to be true, and Keil said the ruling was emotional because it was about ensuring a fair future for coming generations.
Rosentreter also referenced leaked comments from Uber executives overseas describing the company as operating in an unlawful manner. She said the judgment placed New Zealand alongside countries that have taken steps to regulate platform work more clearly.
The union is now urging the Government to immediately halt the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which introduces a gateway test that would block misclassified contractors from accessing the Employment Court to challenge their employment status. Rosentreter warned that passing the Bill would override the Supreme Court and entrench exploitation.
She said the Bill mirrored proposals supplied by Uber to Minister Brooke van Velden and criticised any attempt to push it through under urgency. She urged New Zealand First to intervene, accusing the ACT Party of undermining the country’s employment model.
Workers First is progressing collective bargaining for drivers and is preparing to move ahead with more than one thousand existing claims for wage arrears and lost entitlements. The union is also inviting more drivers to join and will soon release a policy paper on contractor law reform.
The legal process began in 2021 when Workers First and E tu filed action on behalf of the four drivers. The Employment Court ruled in favour of the drivers in 2022, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2024. Uber appealed to the Supreme Court, which has now confirmed that the drivers were employees under section 6 of the Employment Relations Act.
