A Fair Work Commission appeals panel dismisses Uber Eats case

The case is Amita Gupta v Portier Pacific Pty Ltd; Uber Australia Pty Ltd t/a Uber Eats.

On 21 April 2020 a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission dismissed an appeal by Ms Amita Gupta. Ms Gupta claimed that she had been unfairly dismissed. Her application was rejected after a defended hearing before Commissioner Hampton in August 2019. The claim failed as Commissioner Hampton determined that she was not an employee.

The Commissioner decision is consistent with an earlier decision of the Fair Work Commission in Kaseris v Rasier Pacific VOF3.

This finding was confirmed by the Full Bench. The Full Bench reviewed all of the aspects of the relationship but 3 factors were particularly important, which are:

• There was no control on when and how long Ms Gupta performed her work
• Ms Gupta could work for a competitor
• Ms Gupta was not required to wear a uniform and her car was not required to display any logos.

Here is a link to the decision.

Each case will turn on its own facts but the Uber business model has stood up to a number of employment law based challenges to date.

Image Credit – Proxima Studio © Shutterstock.com