Uber grants UK drivers worker status in world first

LONDON: Uber on Tuesday said it is granting its UK drivers worker status, with benefits including a minimum wage — a world first for the US ride-hailing giant.

Weeks after a top court ruling that could shake up Britain’s wider “gig economy” of 5.5 million people, Uber said its drivers would also get holiday pay and a pension.

It is a massive change in the business model of a company that had argued before Britain’s Supreme Court that its drivers were self-employed.

From Wednesday, “more than 70,000 drivers in the UK will be treated as workers, earning at least the national living wage when driving with Uber,” the taxi app said in a statement.

“This is a floor and…