“I’ve been thinking about becoming an Uber driver. It seems to be a good model and they provide the platform for me to use which I think is very useful. How does it work though? Will I be contracting my services out or will I become an employee of Uber?”This is a good question and one not so easy to answer. In South Africa, our labour laws provide for the following test to help determine whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee. A person who works for, or renders services to, any other person is presumed, until the contrary is proven, to be an employee, regardless of the form of the contract, if any one or more of the following factors is present:
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This presumption does not apply to a person who earns more than the threshold determined by the Minister of Labour, currently set at R205 433.30 per annum. Where a person does earn above this threshold, the factors may however still be used as a guide to establish whether the person is an employee or not. The presumption that an employment relationship exists if one of these factors are present will apply regardless of what the contract may say regarding the relationship. This means that all the evidence must be considered to determine what the actual nature of the relationship is.In a recent CCMA case widely reported in the media, the CCMA found that Uber drivers do qualify as employees of Uber and are therefore protected by our labour laws as employees. The CCMA held that not only were drivers provided with the Uber technology platf
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