The New Zealand Court of Appeal (NZCA) dismissed an appeal from Uber on Monday by reaffirming the Employment Court’s (EC) finding that four drivers were considered employees of Uber. The drivers were thereafter allowed access to employment entitlements, including minimum wage and parental leave, under the New Zealand statute.

The EC previously held in a 2022 decision that the four drivers were employees of Uber under section 6 of New Zealand’s Employment Relations Act, although Uber claimed that the four drivers were not employees of Uber but independent transportation services providers that used Uber’s software.

While Uber appealed the EC’s decision, the NZCA similarly relied on section 6 of the Employment Relations Act and agreed with the EC’s chief judge Christina Inglis in finding that the four drivers were employees of Uber then. The NZCA also found that the test in section 6 cannot be modified by the courts, however, it acknowledged that the test could be applied in a way that appreciates the “platform economy” used by Uber. The NZCA also affirmed the EC’s finding that “each case must be dealt with on its own merits”.

This contrasts a previous 2020 EC ruling where the court held that a driver was not employed by Uber because the parties intended for the driver to “operate his own business in the manner and at the times he wished.”

Several other countries, including the UK, Brazil, Switzerland, France and the US, have heard similar cases. Courts in the UK, Switzerland and France have found Uber drivers as employees. While Uber drivers in the US are generally considered independent contractors, some states such as Minnesota have proposed legislation regulating minimum wage or other benefits for rideshare drivers. Whereas Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice determined that drivers are independent contractors.

The decision as to whether non-employee workers should be entitled to enjoy employee protections under the Employment Relations Act lies with the New Zealand Parliament.