Taxi drivers at two major firms in Swindon are set to take legal action against their firms.

Veezu is a major taxi operator in the south west which operates two of the town's major providers -  V Cars, which also runs in Bath, Bristol and Chippenham - and SN1 Cars. 

But law firm Leigh Day claims that more than a thousand drivers working for the operator could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation after being denied holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.

They say this is because Veezu currently treats its drivers as self-employed contractors, but drivers claim they should be treated as workers and given the appropriate workers’ rights and protection under employment law.

Employment lawyers at Leigh Day argue that the way Veezu operates - including allocating drivers’ jobs, fixing their rates and penalising them for declining jobs – means drivers qualify as workers.

Gabriel Morrison, solicitor in the employment team at Leigh Day, said: “We strongly believe that Veezu drivers should be treated as workers for the company and given the appropriate rights and protection under employment law.

"As with other similar claims, we are confident that we will ultimately be able to help Veezu drivers achieve workers’ rights. All taxi and delivery companies using this type of business model should be aware that they cannot continue to short-change their hard-working drivers.”

The claim against Veezu is similar to Leigh Day’s ongoing worker status claim against another taxi company, Bolt.

Given the similarities in how Bolt and Veezu drivers work, Leigh Day believes there is a strong case that Veezu drivers should be classified as workers and receive compensation for holiday pay and any shortfalls between their pay and the National Minimum Wage.

The legal action follows the success in the Supreme Court for Uber drivers, also represented by Leigh Day, who won a similar claim. The court ruled that drivers working for Uber should be classified as workers and given workers’ rights. 

If the claims against Veezu are successful, the company will only be legally required to compensate those who have brought a claim. Leigh Day is acting under a ‘no win no fee’ agreement, which means drivers do not pay anything unless their claim is successful.

A spokesperson for Veezu responded: "We have not received any formal notice about these claims and we are confident that our position on the status of the driver partners operating via Veezu is lawful.”

To join the claim drivers can visit https://www.leighday.co.uk/our-services/group-claims/veezu-worker-status-claims/