FNV v Uber B.V. – Amsterdam District Court, 13.09.2021 ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2021:5029
Gepubliceerd op:
The Amsterdam District Court held that Uber drivers who personally transported passengers through the Uber app worked under employment contracts with Uber. The Court found that Uber exercised modern employer authority through its algorithm, fare-setting, access rules, ratings and account-deactivation system. The Taxi Transport Collective Labour Agreement therefore applied.
1. Background and Legal Question
FNV sought a declaration that drivers using the Uber app worked under employment contracts and that the Taxi Transport Collective Labour Agreement applied.
Uber argued that it was only a technology platform connecting independent drivers with passengers.
Toelichting
The Court had to determine whether Uber merely connected independent businesses with customers or exercised sufficient control to qualify as their employer.
3. Decision and Later Proceedings
The District Court held that the drivers worked under employment contracts with Uber and that the Taxi Transport Collective Labour Agreement applied.
The decision was later reconsidered through a Supreme Court preliminary ruling in 2025 and reversed by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in 2026.
Toelichting
FNV initially succeeded, but the District Court’s collective classification of the drivers did not remain the final outcome.
Tijdlijn
Amsterdam District Court
Supreme Court preliminary ruling
Amsterdam Court of Appeal
Bronnen
- https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2021:5029
- https://www.rechtspraak.nl/404?url=%2Forganisatie-en-contact%2Forganisatie%2Frechtbanken%2Frechtbank-amsterdam%2Fnieuws%2F2021%2F09%2Fchauffeurs-zijn-werknemers-van-uber
- https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:HR:2025:319
- https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:163
Gerelateerde kennis
Bekijk alle kennisFNV v Uber B.V. – Amsterdam Court of Appeal, 27.01.2026 ECLI: ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:163
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal rejected FNV’s collective claim that Uber drivers should be classified as employees. Applying the Supreme Court’s 2025 clarification, the Court found that the drivers involved in the proceedings demonstrated substantial entrepreneurship. However, the judgment did not establish that every Uber driver is self-employed: individual drivers with different circumstances may still qualify as employees.
Uber B.V. v FNV – Supreme Court Preliminary Ruling, 21.02.2025 ECLI: ECLI:NL:HR:2025:319
The Supreme Court clarified how entrepreneurship must be considered when applying the Deliveroo worker-classification framework. The Court held that no hierarchy exists between the relevant circumstances. Entrepreneurship may include activities outside the relationship with the client and may result in people performing the same work for the same organisation receiving different legal classifications.
FNV v Deliveroo Netherlands B.V. – Amsterdam District Court, 15.01.2019, ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2019:198
The Amsterdam District Court held that the legal relationship between Deliveroo and its meal-delivery riders continued to qualify as an employment contract under Article 7:610 BW, despite Deliveroo's use of written “partner agreements” describing riders as independent contractors. The Court found that the introduction of the new contractual model had not fundamentally changed the relationship. It gave particular weight to the fact that the partner agreement was a standard contract drafted unilaterally by Deliveroo, that Deliveroo's digital systems materially influenced how riders obtained work, that there was little or no room for individual negotiation of remuneration, and that the contractual substitution possibility had limited practical significance.
Article 7:610 Dutch Civil Code – Employment Contract
Article 7:610 of the Dutch Civil Code defines an employment contract. It forms the legal basis for determining whether a person described as a freelancer is legally an employee. The assessment focuses on how the relationship operates in practice, not only on the wording or title of the agreement.