Uber to start making individual financial offers to drivers challenging their employment status
Uber New Zealand has agreed to settle with over 1,600 drivers and delivery partners who are challenging their employment status after a landmark decision from the Supreme Court last year.
Workers First Union announced on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement "in good faith" with Uber NZ in relation to more than 1,600 driver claims raised over the past six years.
"This is a hugely important milestone for drivers who have been involved in legal proceedings against Uber for over five years," said Anita Rosentreter, Workers First deputy secretary.
The agreement establishes a framework for Uber to start making individual financial offers to the drivers, which would settle their claims on a full and final basis when accepted.
The offers will be kept confidential, according to Workers First Union, which is working with the ride-sharing platform to administer the settlement offers to the drivers.
A spokesperson from Uber NZ told HRD they are pleased to have reached an agreement with the union.
"Uber is pleased to have reached an agreement with First Union on historic wage arrears claims related to a group of Uber driver and delivery partners," the spokesperson told HRD.
"The agreement brings to an end these matters which pre-dated the introduction of the Gateway Test in February this year. We look ahead with the certainty needed regarding the status of platform work in New Zealand."
Landmark decision on employment status
The agreement settles the claims of more than 1,600 drivers of Uber NZ who are challenging their employment status before the ERA following a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in November 2025.
The landmark ruling upheld the judgment by the Employment Court in 2022 and the Court of Appeal in 2025 that found Uber to have misclassified the employment status of four Uber drivers.
The judgment also found that Uber denied the four drivers employment rights, such as minimum wage, holiday pay, and the right to bargain collectively for better pay and conditions.
Mea'ole Keil, one of the four Uber drivers who first took the employer to court, said he is "proud" of the settlement reached between the parties.
"There is a sense of closure, but also a lot of promise for the future," Keil said.
'We must keep fighting'
The employment dispute between Uber NZ and its drivers is one that helped shape the government's newly passed Employment Relations Amendment Act, which aims to provide more certainty on who can be considered contractors in the workforce.
The law introduces a "gateway test" that will help determine if an individual is working as an employee or contractor of a business.
But the Workers First Union claims that the newly passed reforms also limit Uber drivers' ability to challenge their employment status. It accused the government of introducing changes to the law that mimicked those sought by Uber during their lobbying over the legislation.
"Our current government sided with platform companies over tens of thousands of Kiwi drivers - we must keep fighting," Rosentreter said.
The union said it will continue appealing the changes in the law under a future government.
"Real change that is fair and lasting will take a change of government in November," Rosentreter added.
