Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of whether the current legal framework on employment status adequately protects licensed private hire drivers working through digital platform operators.

Entitlement to employment rights depends on the individual’s employment status.

Private hire drivers in the platform economy can be employees, limb (b) workers, or self-employed, depending on the reality of their working relationship.

The government recognises the potential for new technologies and business models to change the way we work, and our employment framework must continue to adapt and evolve.

We have committed to consult on employment status as soon as possible. The consultation will seek to address issues within the framework which can enable worker exploitation and leave vulnerable workers without core employment protections.