Are Uber delivery drivers self-employed UK?

Uber Eats delivery drivers are self-employed contractors. This is the norm across the gig economy industry. This means you are responsible for your own taxes and for covering your own expenses. Uber will notify HMRC when you sign up as a new driver, and will provide them with your details.



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The U.K. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that ride-sharing app company Uber's drivers are workers and not independent, self-employed contractors.

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If you drive for Uber or Lyft, you are self-employed. As a driver for either company, you are an independent contractor rather than an employee. As an independent contractor, you provide transportation services to individuals.

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Uber now treats all 70,000 of its drivers in Britain as “workers” entitled to a minimum wage, holiday pay and pension plans. It comes weeks after the country's Supreme Court upheld a ruling that its drivers were workers, not independent contractors.

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If you work as a driver for Uber, the company classifies you as an independent contractor for tax and other legal purposes. This means you get none of the legal protections given to employees under federal labor law, such as the right to a minimum wage, overtime pay, and the right to unionize.

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Starting from 1 January 2024, digital platforms such as Airbnb, Fiverr, Upwork, Uber, Deliveroo, and Etsy have been instructed by HMRC to record and disclose the amounts earned by individuals through their services.

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All Uber drivers must register with HMRC to declare their earnings by 5th October. You do this to declare your earnings in the tax year that's just ended. Once you've registered, HMRC will send you what's known as a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number in the post.

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If you're loading earnings to your debit card, in most instances you'll receive your cash right away. If you're transferring earnings to a bank account, processing times can vary depending on your bank. Some banks may take a few days to make your funds available.

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If you are an Uber driver, you are self-employed, and thus must make estimated tax payments on a quarterly basis. If you work it just right, you won't have to pay any additional tax at year end when you file your 1040, nor will you have a big refund. That's the best situation.

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Not only is starting the sign up process for Uber Eats easy, but this gig is also a convenient way to earn a little something on the side. Delivering with Uber Eats can be a side hustler's dream opportunity in today's gig economy, but it could also be everything you're not looking for in a side gig.

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“This economic opportunity has excluded women — not purposefully, but women have self-selected out of it,” said Nick Allen, a cofounder and former CFO of Sidecar who left to start Shuddle, a ride service for children. “And the number one reason they do that is the perception of safety or lack thereof.

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Earnings are decreasing because Uber and Lyft keep changing the rates - keeping prices the same for passengers, lowering pay for drivers and pocketing the difference. As Uber and Lyft continue to make more, drivers continue to make less.

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Of course, some driver deactivations make sense. Uber and Lyft have both said it's their policy to fire drivers who are accused of assaulting or harassing drivers, and they both allude to cutting drivers with ratings below around a 4.5 or 4.6, which can weed out bad drivers.

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Most delivery and rideshare drivers are “independent contractors,” not employees. This includes drivers with: Uber, Lyft, UberEats, GrubHub, DoorDash, InstaCart, and many other app-based platforms. As an independent contractor, you get a tax form called a 1099 (such as a 1099-K, 1099-MISC, or 1099-NEC) instead of a W2.

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By depriving drivers of employee status, Uber and other app-based rideshare and delivery companies have stolen billions of dollars in wages and overtime pay. Adding insult to injury, drivers aren't paid for the time between rides or deliveries.

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According to our research, if Uber instead employed drivers, we would have only 260,000 available full-time roles—and therefore 926,000 drivers would no longer be able to work on Uber going forward. In other words, three-fourths of those currently driving with Uber would be denied their ability to work.

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