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Drivers working for British Car Auctions (BCA) are being urged by law firm Leigh Day to join a workers’ rights claim it is organising.
Leigh Day argues that BCA classes drivers as self-employed independent contractors, which means they are not entitled to workers’ rights such as holiday pay and the national minimum wage.
Leigh Day is looking to claim for back pay for unpaid holiday and compensation for drivers who received less than the National Minimum Wage.
Gabriel Morrison, a solicitor in the employment team at Leigh Day, said the recent victory for Uber drivers in the Supreme Court and the win for Addison Lee drivers in the Court of Appeal, gave strength to its case.
“This is why Leigh Day believes that this claim is a strong and winnable one. As the Supreme Court in Uber pointed out, employment laws are designed to protect vulnerable workers from unfair treatment and low pay.
“Despite these laws, BCA have deprived their drivers of holiday pay and national minimum wage rights for a long time. We are hopeful that BCA will take notice of these recent judgments and realise that denying drivers worker status is not acceptable.”
Were the drivers to win the claim, Leigh Way takes a 25% share plus VAT for their work in pushing it through.
A spokesperson for BCA Logistics said “We take our responsibilities to our employees and to the self-employed contractors we work with very seriously.
“To this end, we regularly review our operating model to that ensure we are operating in accordance with the relevant law. To date we have received no claims from Leigh Day.”