Are Bolt drivers workers?
An employment tribunal ruled in November 2024 that the Bolt drivers who brought the claim are workers, paid for time logged in. For tax they remain self-employed.
Last checked 29/09/2026.
An employment tribunal found in November 2024 that Bolt drivers represented by the law firm Leigh Day are workers rather than self-employed contractors, because of the control Bolt has over how they work. Workers are entitled to the minimum wage and paid holiday.
The tribunal said pay should cover the time drivers were logged into the Bolt app, not just time on trips, as long as they were not logged into a rival app at the same time. Compensation is decided at a later stage.
Worker status does not change your tax. You are self-employed for HMRC, nothing is deducted, and you file a return. What it does make worth keeping is a record of when you were online on each app.
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