Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Gig economyLatest NewsFreelance workersEmployment contracts

Bolt driver to bring employment status case

by Jo Faragher 16 Mar 2020
by Jo Faragher 16 Mar 2020 Bolt is a minicab app similar to Uber
Pic from Bolt
Bolt is a minicab app similar to Uber
Pic from Bolt

A driver is bringing an employment status case against taxi-hailing company Bolt after he was expelled from its platform for refusing to take enough fares.

His case could open the floodgates for other claims from Bolt drivers, according to the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, which estimates there are around 35,000 Bolt drivers in London.

Worker status

Deliveroo and Uber Eats face questions over worker black market 

When does a casual worker become an employee?

Andrei Donisa claimed he was blocked from using Bolt’s app – which works in a similar way to Uber – on the grounds that his acceptance rate for rides was too low, even though he had not agreed minimum hours with the company.

Donisa said he would decline journeys that were too short and far away to justify the journey, or if a client had a low rating from other drivers and could therefore be a safety risk.

The first time his acceptance rate dropped below 50%, Bolt suspended his account for 24 hours. The second time he did so he was suspended for a week, and the third, for a period of 10 years.

Donisa claims he was not made aware of any of these penalties in advance. He also claims the company denied drivers basic rights such as the minimum wage.

Estonian company Bolt set up in central London last summer after Uber was stripped of its licence by Transport for London amid allegations drivers had faked their identity.

Donisa said the company was “worse than Uber”, despite claiming ethical credentials.

“We get no sick pay, no holiday pay, no guaranteed minimum wage. The one right they claim to give us is the right to choose how we work and when I exercised that right, I was punished and dismissed by Bolt,” he said. “We need to take a stand on this and with the support of my union, the IWGB, that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

IWGB general secretary Jason Moyer-Lee added: “Bolt is just one of many Uber imitation companies given a free pass to ignore workers rights but as long as they exploit drivers and deprive them of the workers rights they’re entitled to, the IWGB will hold them to account.”

A Bolt spokesperson said: “A high quality, reliable service is critically important. Happy passengers ultimately lead to more money for our drivers as they get more business with Bolt at lower commission rates than with any other platform.”

Employee relations opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more Employee Relations jobs

Jo Faragher
Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Coronavirus: Recruiter reports 67% spike in video interviews
next post
Practical ways to deal with coronavirus disruption

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Davos 2022: ‘Invest in social jobs to save...

27 May 2022

P&O Ferries boss denies reputational damage after mass...

27 May 2022

Why Can’t Managers Manage? Chris Roebuck talks to...

27 May 2022

Parliament launches UK labour market inquiry

27 May 2022

Menopausal worker loses sex and disability discrimination claim

27 May 2022

Employers must help employees ‘flourish’ post-pandemic

27 May 2022

Age remains a barrier to upskilling finds research

27 May 2022

‘Inequality is embedded in our labour market’ says...

27 May 2022

More than £1bn of upskilling loan money has...

26 May 2022

Monkeypox advice for employers: working from home and...

26 May 2022
  • Strathclyde Business School expands its Degree Apprenticeship offer in England PROMOTED | The University of Strathclyde is expanding its programmes...Read more
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+