Academics sue Oxford University for contract ‘Uberisation’

Two academics are suing the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom for employing them as gig economy workers in a case which draws on the landmark ruling that gave Uber drivers the right to paid holidays and a pension, writes Rachel Hall for The Guardian.

The two lecturers were employed on fixed-term ‘personal services’ contracts to teach on Oxford’s creative writing course for 15 years, but these were not renewed in 2022. The pair, Alice Jolly and Rebecca Abrams, claim the nature of their employment means they should be considered employees and their misclassification meant they missed out on several fundamental workplace rights.

“We are bringing this action on behalf of hundreds of Oxford University tutors who, like us, are employed on legally questionable casual contracts. Oxford is one of the worst offenders when it comes to the Uberisation of higher education teaching, with nearly 70% of its staff on precarious contracts. This is bad for teachers and bad for students,” said Abrams.
Full report on The Guardian site