The Employment Tribunal specifically rejected Bolt's claim that drivers are self-employed contractors running their own businesses, finding instead that the terms and conditions the firm applies to its relationship with drivers, as well as the level of control it has over their day-to-day work, means they are in fact workers.
'Overwhelmingly, the power lies with Bolt,' said the ruling. 'There is nothing in the relationship which demands, or even suggests, agency... The agency notion is posited simply to defeat the obvious interpretation which the facts invite - that Bolt employs the drivers to provide their labour in furtherance of its transportation business.'
The supposed contract between the Bolt driver and the passenger is a fiction designed by Bolt - and in particular its lawyers - to defeat the argument that it has an employer/worker relationship with the driver.
Lawyers from Leigh Day representing the drivers said the employment tribunal decision - which was handed down on 8 November 2024 following a three-week hearing in September - could lead to drivers receiving collective compensation.
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