Uber has come under further pressure in London after a union threatened legal action if the capital’s transport authority renews the taxi app’s licence without guaranteeing more rights for drivers.

In a legal letter sent this week, the GMB union warns Transport for London (TfL) that failure to impose conditions which guarantee income for Uber drivers while limiting their number in the city and the hours they can work would “breach the relevant standards of reasonableness and would accordingly be unlawful”.

The GMB said it would apply for permission to seek a judicial review of the licence agreement if TfL did not apply the new conditions.

The union argues that Uber’s current business model in London necessitates drivers working excessive hours “to the detriment of the health and safety of Uber drivers in London and of other road users”.

The dispute over the terms of Uber’s licence is due to be settled via arbitration, and the GMB said if this route was chosen the company’s licence should be renewed for only a six-month period in order to allow the matter to be resolved. The term of Uber’s current licence is five years and the new one is expected to be of a similar length.

The threat of legal action from the GMB comes after Uber drivers and the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, the trade body for London’s black-cab drivers, called for minimum employment rights and better regulation of private hire taxi operators including the US company.

The GMB backed a successful employment tribunal case last year against Uber that ruled its drivers were not self-employed contractors but workers, and were therefore entitled to the national minimum wage and holiday pay. Uber has appealed against the ruling. The original case involved 19 Uber drivers. The GMB said a further 41 drivers have joined the claim.



GMB has also lobbied the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has close ties to the union, to step in.

An Uber spokesperson said: “Millions of Londoners rely on Uber to get a reliable ride at the touch of a button and thousands of licensed drivers make money through our app.

“Almost all taxi and private hire drivers in the UK have been self-employed for decades and with Uber they have more control over what they do. Drivers who use Uber are totally free to choose if, when and where they drive with no shifts, minimum hours or uniforms. Last year drivers using our app made average fares of £15 per hour and were logged in for an average of 30 hours per week.

“The vast majority of drivers who use Uber tell us they want to remain their own boss as that’s the main reason why they signed up to us in the first place.”

Despite the protests, TfL is expected to renew Uber’s licence. A TfL spokesperson said: “We do not comment on the status of individual licence applications.”

Under proposed new rules, the amount that Uber and other private hire operators pay for a licence could rise dramatically. Over the next five years, Uber’s bill could rise from about £3,000 at present to more than £2m, under a new scheme that would charge higher fees to operators with more cars. However, consultation on the new fees does not close until June and any new rules may not come into force for some time.