Worker rights for UK gig workers (2025-26)

Summary

If you are a worker in the UK in the 2025-26 tax year, you get core rights like minimum wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, discrimination protection, whistleblowing protection, pension auto-enrolment in the right cases, and protection from being punished for asserting legal rights, but you do not get the full employee package like unfair dismissal or redundancy pay.

For gig workers, the biggest fight is often not whether the right exists on paper, but whether the platform admits you are a worker and whether you can prove your working time, pay and treatment fast enough to enforce it.

The law gives you routes to enforce these rights through HMRC, The Pensions Regulator, ACAS early conciliation and the employment tribunal, but the reality is that platforms and employers often make workers fight for rights they should have had from day one.

Key facts (UK 2025-26)

• A worker is a legal category in UK law between an employee and a fully self-employed contractor; workers get some key statutory rights but not the full employee package.
• National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage rates from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026: £12.21 for age 21 and over, £10.00 for age 18 to 20, £7.55 for under 18, and £7.55 for apprentices who qualify for the apprentice rate.
• From 1 April 2026, those rates rise to £12.71 for age 21 and over, £10.85 for age 18 to 20, £8.00 for under 18, and £8.00 for apprentices.
• Workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year under the Working Time Regulations 1998.
• For irregular-hours workers in 2025-26, holiday pay is usually based on average pay over the previous 52 paid weeks, ignoring weeks with no pay and going further back if needed.
• Irregular-hours and part-year workers can also have holiday entitlement accrued at 12.07% of hours worked for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, and rolled-up holiday pay is now lawful again if done properly.
• Workers who work more than 6 hours in a day are entitled to a 20-minute uninterrupted rest break.
• Workers also have rights to 11 hours' rest between working days and 24 hours' uninterrupted rest each 7-day period, or 48 hours each 14-day period.
• Workers can ask to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing by a fellow worker or trade union official under section 10 Employment Relations Act 1999.
• Eligible workers must be auto-enrolled into a workplace pension if they are aged 22 to State Pension age, ordinarily work in Great Britain, and earn at least £10,000 a year in 2025-26.
• For pension auto-enrolment in 2025-26, qualifying earnings run from £6,240 to £50,270.
• Workers do not generally get standard unfair dismissal, statutory redundancy pay, statutory minimum notice, or Statutory Sick Pay in most worker-only arrangements in 2025-26, because those attach mainly to employee status.
• Upcoming changes to flag: from 6 April 2026, holiday records become a bigger enforcement issue, with ACAS saying employers must keep annual leave and holiday pay records and the new Fair Work Agency is expected to get enforcement powers.
• Upcoming changes to flag: from 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes Statutory Sick Pay rules for employees, but that still does not create a general SSP right for workers who are not employees.

Legislation, case law, regulation

• Employment Rights Act 1996: the main Act defining worker and employee rights, including unlawful deductions, protection from detriment for asserting some statutory rights, and unfair dismissal for employees.
• National Minimum Wage Act 1998: gives workers the right to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
• Working Time Regulations 1998: gives workers rights to paid holiday, rest breaks, daily rest and weekly rest.
• Employment Relations Act 1999, section 10: gives workers the right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings.
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998: folded into the Employment Rights Act 1996; gives workers protection from detriment for whistleblowing.
• Equality Act 2010: protects workers and many contractors from discrimination, harassment and victimisation linked to protected characteristics.
• Pensions Act 2008 and related auto-enrolment rules: require employers to auto-enrol eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension.
• Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5: Supreme Court decision confirming Uber drivers were workers, not self-employed contractors, for employment rights purposes; central for gig worker minimum wage and holiday claims.
• Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Central Arbitration Committee and another [2023] UKSC 43: Deliveroo rider case going the other way on worker status because of substitution rights.
• Toal and another v GB Oils Ltd [2013] IRLR 696: confirms the worker's choice of companion matters for the statutory right to be accompanied.

How it actually works

1. What a "worker" actually is

A worker is someone who personally does work for another business and is not genuinely running their own fully independent business for that client. This matters because platforms love calling people "self-employed" in the contract even where the facts look more like worker status.

That is why Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 matters so much. The Supreme Court looked at the reality of control, not Uber's paperwork, and said the drivers were workers.

2. National Minimum Wage

If you are a worker, you must be paid at least the legal minimum for your working time.

For 2025-26, the rates are:

• Age 21 and over: £12.21 an hour.
• Age 18 to 20: £10.00 an hour.
• Under 18: £7.55 an hour.
• Apprentice rate: £7.55 an hour.

For gig workers, the big argument is what counts as working time. In Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5, the Supreme Court accepted that working time included periods when drivers were logged into the app, in their territory, and ready and willing to accept trips, not just when a passenger was in the car.

That matters because platforms often try to count only "engaged time" or "job time". If the law counts more time than the platform counts, your true hourly rate can be much lower than the platform claims.

3. Holiday pay

Workers get 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year.

If your hours and pay are irregular, holiday pay in 2025-26 is generally worked out using the previous 52 paid weeks. Weeks with no pay are skipped and earlier paid weeks are used instead.

There are now two linked ideas to understand for irregular-hours workers:

• Holiday entitlement accrual can be built at 12.07% of hours worked for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024.
• Holiday pay when leave is taken is still commonly based on the 52-week reference period unless lawful rolled-up holiday pay is being used.

If a platform tells you "we added 12.07% to each payslip so that's all sorted", check the detail. Rolled-up holiday pay is only lawful if it is clearly shown and workers are still allowed to actually take leave.

4. Rest breaks and rest time

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, if you work more than 6 hours in a day, you are entitled to an uninterrupted 20-minute rest break.

You also get:

• 11 hours' rest between working days.
• 24 hours' uninterrupted rest each week, or 48 hours each fortnight.

This is a real right, but gig work makes it messy. Platforms often act like logged-in time is your "choice", which makes rest-break enforcement harder in practice unless worker status is already accepted.

5. Discrimination protection

Workers are protected against discrimination, harassment and victimisation under the Equality Act 2010.

That means if a platform treats you worse because of race, sex, disability, religion, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or another protected characteristic, you may have a legal claim even if you are not an employee.

This matters a lot in gig work: disability adjustments, religious discrimination, racist customer complaints, and pregnancy-related treatment can all become legal issues fast. Platforms do not get a free pass because they call you a contractor.

6. Whistleblowing protection

Workers are protected if they make a protected disclosure (whistleblowing), which means raising certain serious concerns in the public interest, such as safety breaches, fraud, legal breaches or discrimination.

If the platform punishes you for that, cuts work, deactivates you, blocks bonuses, or otherwise causes a detriment (harmful treatment), you may have a whistleblowing claim.

7. Right to be accompanied

If you are invited to a disciplinary or grievance hearing, you can make a reasonable request to be accompanied by:

• a fellow worker
• a trade union representative
• a trade union official

This right comes from section 10 Employment Relations Act 1999 and applies to workers, not just employees.

8. Auto-enrolment pension rights

If you are a worker and meet the age and earnings tests, the employer must auto-enrol you into a qualifying workplace pension.

For 2025-26, the key thresholds are:

• earnings trigger: £10,000 a year
• lower qualifying earnings limit: £6,240
• upper qualifying earnings limit: £50,270

This is why Uber introduced pension arrangements for eligible drivers after worker-status rulings. If you are a worker and the platform is not enrolling you when it should, that is not a "nice to have" issue, it is a legal breach.

9. Protection from detriment for asserting rights

Workers can also be protected if they suffer a detriment for trying to enforce statutory rights. That can include complaining about holiday pay, minimum wage, pension enrolment or whistleblowing issues.

This matters because many platforms do not openly say "we are punishing you for asserting rights". They just cut access, starve you of work, or turn the account off. The law cares about substance, not just the label slapped on the retaliation.

10. What workers do not get that employees do

Workers do not usually get these employee-only rights:

• Unfair dismissal.
• Statutory redundancy pay.
• Statutory minimum notice.
• Statutory Sick Pay in most worker-only arrangements in 2025-26.
• Family leave rights that attach specifically to employee status in many cases.

That is one of the biggest traps in online advice. A worker is not the same as an employee, even though both are above "self-employed contractor" status.

11. How you actually enforce your rights

If minimum wage is the issue:

• You can raise it internally.
• You can complain to HMRC, including anonymously.
• Or you can bring a tribunal claim, but ACAS says you generally must choose between a tribunal claim and an HMRC complaint for the same underpayment route.
• HMRC can order back-pay for up to 6 years, fine the employer, and in serious cases prosecute.

If pension auto-enrolment is the issue:

• Raise it with the employer or platform.
• Report it to The Pensions Regulator if they are not complying.

If holiday pay, rest breaks, detriment, whistleblowing or discrimination is the issue:

• Start with a written grievance if possible.
• Then contact ACAS for Early Conciliation.
• Tribunal claims usually have a time limit of 3 months less 1 day from the act complained of.

The practicality gap is real. Having the right on paper is one thing; risking deactivation, lost shifts or no income while you fight for it is another. That is why unions like IWGB, ADCU and GMB matter so much in gig work.

Worked example

A 22-year-old Uber driver in Leeds is accepted as a worker for rights purposes under the reasoning in Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5.

In the 2025-26 tax year, assume this pattern for one week:

• Logged into the app, in territory and willing to take trips: 38 hours.
• Gross Uber pay for the week: £420.
• Age: 22, so the 2025-26 NMW/NLW rate is £12.21 an hour.

Minimum wage check

If all 38 hours count as working time, the legal floor is: 38 x £12.21 = £463.98.

But the driver only received £420, so the shortfall is about £43.98 for that week. That is a minimum wage issue if the worker-status and working-time analysis holds.

Holiday pay

Now assume the same driver wants to take 1 week of holiday in August 2025. Their last 52 paid weeks average out at £410 a week. That means their holiday pay for that week should be about £410.

Pension

Assume the same driver consistently earns enough to go over £10,000 a year and meets the age test. That makes them eligible for auto-enrolment into a workplace pension if they are treated as a worker for those duties.

Enforcing it

If Uber or another platform refused the minimum wage shortfall, holiday pay or pension enrolment:

• The driver should keep screenshots of hours logged in, trip history, pay statements and messages.
• For minimum wage, they could complain to HMRC.
• For holiday pay or detriment, they would usually need ACAS Early Conciliation within 3 months less 1 day.
• For pension failings, they could report the employer to The Pensions Regulator.

What Reddit, TikTok and forums get wrong

1. "Workers are basically employees with a different label." Wrong. Workers get important rights, but not the full employee package like unfair dismissal and redundancy pay.

2. "Holiday pay for gig workers is always just 12.07% on top of wages." Wrong. For irregular-hours workers, holiday entitlement can accrue at 12.07%, but holiday pay itself is often still calculated using the 52-week reference period, unless lawful rolled-up holiday pay is used properly.

3. "If the app says you're self-employed, you have no minimum wage rights." Wrong. Courts look at the real relationship, not just the wording in the contract; that is exactly what happened in Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5.

4. "You can wait ages before dealing with tribunal stuff." Wrong. Most tribunal claims have a 3 months less 1 day limit, and you usually need to start with ACAS Early Conciliation.

5. "Your boss can refuse to let you bring a union rep to a grievance hearing because you're not an employee." Wrong. The statutory right to be accompanied applies to workers too under section 10 Employment Relations Act 1999.

6. "Pension auto-enrolment is only for proper employees on payroll." Wrong. Auto-enrolment duties apply to eligible workers, not just classic employees.

Action steps for the reader

1. Check whether the facts of your work look like worker status: personal service, platform control, no real power to set your own terms, and no genuine independent business dealing with the customer.
2. Keep weekly records of hours worked, pay received, holiday taken, and messages with the platform so you can prove minimum wage and holiday pay issues later.
3. If you think you are underpaid on minimum wage, decide fast whether to go to HMRC or start ACAS and tribunal action.
4. If your platform refuses pension enrolment and you meet the age and earnings rules, report it to The Pensions Regulator.
5. If you raise a grievance, ask in writing to bring a trade union rep or fellow worker with you.
6. If you are punished for speaking up about safety, pay, discrimination or legal breaches, get advice immediately on whistleblowing and detriment claims.
7. Do not sit on time limits: most tribunal routes mean 3 months less 1 day from the bad act.
8. Speak to IWGB, ADCU, GMB, Leigh Day, Bates Wells or Farore Law if the platform is messing you around on status or pay.

Related tools GigKiln should build

• Worker or self-employed checker: asks control, substitution and pay questions and flags likely worker status.
• Gig minimum wage calculator: compares logged-in working time with total pay using 2025-26 age bands.
• Holiday pay checker for irregular hours: works out 52-week average holiday pay and compares it with what the platform paid.
• Tribunal deadline calculator: enters date of underpayment, deactivation or detriment and shows the ACAS deadline.
• Pension auto-enrolment checker: uses age and annual earnings to show if the worker should have been auto-enrolled in 2025-26.
• Grievance pack generator: creates a plain-English grievance letter asking for arrears, records and a hearing with a companion.

Related guides

• "Worker vs employee vs self-employed: the plain-English version"
• "Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 explained"
• "How to prove working time for gig workers"
• "Holiday pay for irregular-hours workers in 2025-26"
• "What to do if your platform pays less than minimum wage"
• "How ACAS Early Conciliation works for gig workers"
• "Pension auto-enrolment for app workers"
• "Whistleblowing and detriment in platform work"

Sources

Primary

• GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement: Holiday pay, accessed 18 April 2026.
• ACAS, Calculating holiday pay and Holiday pay: Irregular hours and part-year workers, accessed 18 April 2026.
• ACAS, Rolled-up holiday pay: Irregular hours and part-year workers, accessed 18 April 2026.
• ACAS, The right to rest and Understanding the Working Time Regulations, accessed 18 April 2026.
• The Pensions Regulator, Earnings thresholds and GOV.UK review of the automatic enrolment trigger and qualifying earnings band for 2025/2026, accessed 18 April 2026.
• ACAS, If your employer pays less: National Minimum Wage, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage: policy on enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers, accessed 18 April 2026.
• The Pensions Regulator, Report that your employer is not complying with their workplace pension duties, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Employment Relations Act 1999 explanatory notes, section 10 right to be accompanied, accessed 18 April 2026.
• ACAS, How early conciliation works and Employment tribunal time limits, accessed 18 April 2026.
• ACAS, Whistleblowing at work, accessed 18 April 2026.
• UK Supreme Court, Uber BV and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5, accessed 18 April 2026.

Secondary

• DWF, National Minimum Wage Increase April 2025, accessed 18 April 2026.
• TUC, Right to be accompanied, accessed 18 April 2026.
• DavidsonMorris, Irregular Hours Holiday Pay UK 2026 and Right to Be Accompanied, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Xero, Auto enrolment workplace pensions: Employer setup guide, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Landau Law, Time limits for making employment claims, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Citizens Advice, Check the time limits for taking legal action about discrimination, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Akin Gump / Bird & Bird updates on April 2026 changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025, accessed 18 April 2026.