The New Zealand Employment Court ruled in a landmark case that four drivers for work services platform Uber are, in fact, employees and not independent contractors, which would entitle them to worker rights and protections.

While the ruling applies directly to the four drivers, the court noted that it may have wider implications for drivers across New Zealand.

Chief judge Christina Inglis said the court ‘does not have jurisdiction to make broader declarations of employment status” so all Uber drivers “do not, as a result of this judgment, instantly become employees.’

“It may well have broader impact, particularly where, as here, there is apparent uniformity in the way in which the companies operate, and the framework under which drivers are engaged,” Inglis said.

The four drivers, Julian Ang, Mea’ole Keil, Nureddin Abdurahman and Praful ‘Bill’’ Rama, took Uber to court through unions E Tū and First Union asking for a declaration that said they were employees, according to NewsClick.

“This is a landmark legal decision not just for Aotearoa but also internationally,” Anita Rosentreter, First Union strategic project coordinator, told The Guardian. In light of the verdict, she said, First Union was now accepting Uber drivers as members and would move to initiate collective bargaining.

Praful Rama, one of the Uber drivers represented in the case, said in a statement, “Finally, there is justice for Uber drivers. This will mean drivers will have a say, not just be subject to the control of Uber. We are employees.”

A spokesperson for Uber said the company was ‘disappointed’ and would be appealing against the decision. They added that it was ‘too soon to speculate’ on whether New Zealand’s drivers having employee status would affect the company’s operations in the country more broadly.

“We are reviewing the decision in detail and will be filing an appeal," a spokesperson for Uber in Australia and New Zealand said.

NZCTU (New Zealand Council of Trade Unions) President Richard Wagstaff said everyone who worked for Uber, and similar gig economy companies, deserved to be treated as employees.

"These drivers deserve protection under New Zealand's employment law, including pay, guaranteed hours, leave, Kiwisaver contributions, and the right to unionise,” Wagstaff told The New Zealand Herald.

Last year, Uber lost a landmark legal case in the UK Supreme Court. Elsewhere in Europe, this year Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court upheld a ruling that drivers for Uber must be considered employees while the ride sharing firm must be considered an employer.