Uber says the majority of drivers don't want this, which I'd call bs on, but has anyone heard from actual drivers what they want?
There is a limit on how much can and can't be done within the EU, it's not a gravy train buffet. There is peer pressure and potential, let's call it cascading effect. Some lawmaker will hear about this and try to get it passed in another country as well. I struggle to think of one state which would simply accept Uber as some great Enterprise idea, look at the history here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_ridesharing_comp... Most places banned and this bit. In December 2017, the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber is a transport company, subject to local transport regulation in European Union member states, rather than an information society service as Uber had argued.[99]
So at best, tolerated for the time being.
In Europe, working without full compensation is typically called illicit work(instead of side gig), not extremely frowned upon, but the main job has to have proper compensation. It very normal and expected to get 4 weeks paid holidays or more, sick days covered, insurance in most places, pension contributions etc. Uber tells you to get a car, petrol, pay insurance and take jobs when available, and get none of the above, who are they kidding.
This is true for basically every single European city. Public transport is of such high quality that taking a taxi simply doesn't make sense.
You say it like they just walk in, ask for money and get it. It's really much harder, practically impossible if you're not on some priority list (with kids, disability, single mother, etc).
Paying your tax and premiums is way cheaper and much more pleasant.
To an American it may sound communist (though technically it's more socialist) but it's our country, we can choose the system we want. And we've done an OK job IMO (In fact I wish things were a bit more socialist - this abuse of the ZZP concept has been going on for far too long).
This is not a surprise, this extra money is effectively bringing the employee health insurance, pension, invalidity pension, unemployment benefit, maximum number of hours to work per week, paid vacations, etc.
If you need to pay it out of your pocket, it turns out to be the same.
In the "old" Europe, the net salary is basically 50% of the cost for the company, sometimes a bit more, sometimes less depending of marital status, country, etc. But this is a good rule of thumb.
I dispute this number. Do you have a source for this?
- net: 2000€
- gross: 3100€
- company cost: 3850€
- net: 4300 PLN - gross: 6000 PLN - total employer cost: 7200 PLN
So, the total tax burden is around 40%.
What gets neglected in these discussions though is that everything employer pays is counted as a cost he can write off from revenue to decrease his profit taxes (assuming company makes profit!). So, the effective cost on employer side is lower than 7200 PLN - naive calculation, assuming 15% profit taxes, would make it 0.85 * 7200 PLN = 6100 PLN.
Also, to make it worse, once you get your 4300 PLN salary into your bank account, you pay on average 16% VAT on every purchase (8-23%, depending on the item bought). So in reality your net salary is 4300*0.84 = 3612, making total tax burden almost 50%.
If things don't add up or can be done a cheaper way, talk to the government. Don't stop obeying the law.
In EU countries, there are many taxes that do not carry the official name "tax".
Much easier that way to get the people to swallow the pill.
You're protecting your own interests. The state has to protect everyone's interests; and there's always an international aspect, at least in the EU. That goes beyond than what short-sighted and possibly "primed" employees might think they want.
i don't think this is correct. the state only protects their own interests. do these align with the general populace? sometimes they do, other times they don't.