Employment lawyers say decision makes it ‘easier’ for staff to bring claims over unfavourable treatment
14 August 2026
The Supreme Court has allowed a taxi driver’s appeal in a landmark ruling on discrimination against part-time workers.
The judgment, handed down on Wednesday (12 August), found that a part-time worker’s status does not have to be the “sole cause” of less favourable treatment, but can instead be an “effective cause”.
The appellant, Warren Augustine, worked an average of 34.8 hours a week as a private hire driver for Data Cars in 2016. All drivers were charged a weekly ‘circuit fee’ of 148 at a fixed rate to access the company’s booking system, regardless of how many hours they worked.
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Augustine claimed that he was treated less favourably as a part-time driver, under the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, as the fixed fee meant he paid a higher fee per hour to drive than his full-time counterparts.
Augustine initially lost his claim at tribunal, with the judge finding that he was charged the fee because it was necessary to enable Data Cars to generate revenue, rather than because he worked fewer hours than some of his colleagues.
The tribunal ruled that even if there was less favourable treatment on the ground of part-time worker status, the claim would...
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