Uber Wants EU Not to Tinker With Flex Contracts Too Much

Uber provides jobs for self-employed taxi drivers with its contracts, but flexibility is necessary for this.

This is the view of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who calls on the European Commission not to polish the rules too much to protect employees better.

Brussels is thinking about new rules and asking the professional field for ideas. But according to Uber chief Khosrowshahi, employees should have flexibility and control over where and when they want to work. ‘Any changes in this should apply to the entire sector and not just to one company,’ he says.

The Uber CEO believes that a new approach is possible in which better protection and other benefits are not at the expense of flexibility, among other things.

Uber has long been criticized for the collaboration contracts for self-employed people with which it works. For example, employees are not entitled to a minimum wage, paid holidays and rest breaks. At the end of this year, the EU wants to draft new rules on flex workers’ rights. Later this month, Brussels will consult workers and employers on the rights of flexible workers.

The European Commission first wants feedback on whether a law is needed to improve flex workers’ working conditions, followed by a second consultation on the content of the law.

These include the precarious working conditions, transparency and predictability of contractual arrangements, health and safety problems and adequate access to social protection, reports Brussels.