Page 61 - Q&A Book.indd

are general and serve as guidelines for employers. These norms may not
however be appropriate for all workplaces. A departure from the Code
may therefore be justified in certain circumstances by an employer.

I would advise that you discuss your rights with your employer and refer
your employer to a copy of the Code which can be downloaded from
the Department of Labour’s website at www.labour.gov.za

Do Uber drivers qualify as employees?

Precious Serekego
August 2017

“I’ve been thinking about becoming an Uber driver. It seems
to be a good model and they provide the platform for me to
use which I think is very useful. How does it work though? Will I
be contracting my services out or will I become an employee
of Uber?” Labour

This is a good question and one not so easy to answer. In South
Africa, our labour laws provide for the following test to help determine
whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee.
A person who works for, or renders services to, any other person is
presumed, until the contrary is proven, to be an employee, regardless
of the form of the contract, if any one or more of the following factors
is present:

• The manner in which the person works is subject to the
control or direction of another person;
• the person’s hours of work are subject to the control or
direction of another person;
• in the case of a person who works for an organisation,
the person is a part of that organisation;
• the person has worked for that other person for an average
of at least 40 hours per month over the last three months;
• the person is economically dependent on the other person
for whom that person works or renders services;
• the person is provided with tools of trade or work equipment
by the other person; or
• the person only works for or renders services to one person.

This presumption does not apply to a person who earns more than
the threshold determined by the Minister of Labour, currently set at
R205 433.30 per annum. Where a person does earn above this

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