In the United Kingdom, the employment status of Uber drivers has been a subject of significant legal scrutiny and evolution. Following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2021, Uber drivers in the UK are legally classified as "workers" rather than purely self-employed independent contractors. This "worker" status is a unique middle ground in UK employment law; it means drivers remain self-employed for tax purposes (filing their own Self Assessment) but are entitled to specific employment rights. These rights include receiving at least the National Living Wage, accrued holiday pay, and automatic enrollment into a pension scheme. Therefore, while drivers maintain the flexibility to choose when and where they work—a hallmark of self-employment—they are not "independent contractors" in the traditional sense because Uber exercises a level of control over their work conditions, making them "workers" under the law.