UK Uber drivers get some solace

Uber announced Tuesday it would reclassify more than 70,000 drivers in the United Kingdom as “workers” who will receive a minimum wage while completing trips as well as holiday time and eligibility for a pension plan.

The designation crucially does not make the Uber drivers full employees, as they will not be paid for idle time between trip requests. The minimum wage in the U.K. is roughly the equivalent of $12 an hour.

The shift comes on the heels of a landmark British Supreme Court decision that the ride-hailing giant should provide some basic worker’s rights.

The two lead claimants in that challenge say the new worker designation does not meet legal requirements.

“The Supreme Court ruled that drivers are to be recognized as workers with entitlements to the minimum wage and holiday pay to accrue on working time from log on to log off whereas Uber is committing only to these entitlements to accrue from time of trip acceptance to drop off,” James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam said in a statement through the App Drivers & Couriers Union.