Just Eat will face an employment tribunal next week as more than 7,000 couriers challenge their classification as self-employed independent contractors.

An employment status hearing is due to begin on Tuesday 5 May 2026 at the London Tribunals Centre, with proceedings listed to run until 2 June.

The case will determine whether couriers engaged by Just Eat should be classified as employees or workers, as argued by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of the claimants, or whether they should continue to be treated as self-employed contractors.

The outcome could decide whether the couriers are entitled to key workplace protections, including the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday and written terms of employment.

The tribunal will consider a number of preliminary issues, including whether the couriers meet the legal tests for employee or “limb (b)” worker status, and whether Just Eat should be treated as their employer for the purposes of employment rights legislation.

The couriers, whose claims were first issued in 2023, argue that the reality of their working relationship with Just Eat is inconsistent with the company’s classification of them as self-employed.

A judgment is expected later this year.

Leigh Day is acting in several worker status claims across the gig economy, representing drivers, couriers and others in cases focused on access to basic employment rights.

In January 2025, an employment tribunal ruled that Addison Lee drivers represented by the firm were workers entitled to rights including holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage.

That followed a 2024 ruling that Bolt drivers represented by Leigh Day were also workers, as well as the 2021 UK Supreme Court decision in favour of Uber drivers, which has helped shape the legal landscape around gig economy employment status.

Leigh Day also has ongoing claims against eCourier and BCA.