Assessment of applying Saudi Labour Law to digital platform workers: Taking uber as an example

Abstract

The use of technology platforms has become quite common and popular worldwide. Some of these platforms have used for business purpose such as connecting taxi drivers with riders or providing delivery services. At present, there are famous institutions employing persons to provide their services through digital platforms, and in some states, such persons are considered workers. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is significant to find a direct answer to whether or not persons using digital labour platforms to offer services could be regarded as workers, and the Saudi Labour Law must, or not, be applied to govern their contracts with the enterprises that own these platforms. This paper aims to find a legal solution to this issue and concentrates on digital platform workers in Saudi Arabia. It examines mainly legal sources relating to Saudi Labour Law such as books, and investigates a number of reported judgments issued by the Commission for the Settlement of Labour Disputes in Saudi Arabia in 2010 and 2011.It also reviews relative information provided on the web sites of Uber. The finding is that the traditional rules of Saudi Labour Law should apply to these types of work agreements, and persons rendering their services through digital platforms must be protected by the rules established in the Law, but, according to the recent provisions adopted by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, it seems that they are considered as freelancers.