:00:00. > :00:18.Are Uber drivers being taken for a ride?
:00:19. > :00:22.A UK court is set to rule on demands for paid leave and pensions
:00:23. > :00:28.in a major test case for the 'gig economy'
:00:29. > :00:31.Plus booming ad sales spell out big profits for Google owner Alphabet.
:00:32. > :00:53.We start here in London where a court is due to rule
:00:54. > :00:57.We are going to head to Asia to also talk about their budget.
:00:58. > :01:00.We start here in London where a court is due to rule
:01:01. > :01:03.on what's being called the 'employment case of the year'.
:01:04. > :01:06.Taxi hailing app Uber is being sued by 19 of its drivers demanding
:01:07. > :01:09.the right to holiday and sick pay and a pension.
:01:10. > :01:12.It could have major implications for the wider 'gig economy' -
:01:13. > :01:15.where companies use apps to employ people on a freelance basis,
:01:16. > :01:17.for everything from deliveries to babysitting.
:01:18. > :01:19.For Uber there is a huge amount at stake.
:01:20. > :01:23.In just six years it has ballooned from a tiny start up to a company
:01:24. > :01:25.spanning 70 countries and valued at $66 billion.
:01:26. > :01:28.Uber has always maintained that its drivers are self-employed -
:01:29. > :01:31.they get to work as little or often as they wish
:01:32. > :01:37.but without the benefits of staff employees.
:01:38. > :01:39.However the plaintiffs argue they are employed by the company
:01:40. > :01:42.so it owes them paid leave and a pension.
:01:43. > :01:45.If the judge agrees, tens of thousands of other UK Uber
:01:46. > :01:47.drivers could claim the same benefits.
:01:48. > :01:50.That could push up the cost of booking an Uber ride
:01:51. > :01:53.Uber is fighting similar challenges around the world.
:01:54. > :01:56.In August, a US judge rejected $100m deal between 385,000 drivers
:01:57. > :01:59.and Uber, saying that the settlement was not fair,
:02:00. > :02:30.But not everyone who drives for Uber is unhappy with the way it operates.
:02:31. > :02:43.I am not self employed. The definition is that I create the
:02:44. > :02:50.business. I follow the app and it gets me access to the job and I do
:02:51. > :02:59.not get paid, Uber get paid and they control all these things. I was
:03:00. > :03:08.always a creative project. I run a tax start up, we are very busy and
:03:09. > :03:13.sometimes I cannot drive for days. Sometimes I can drive a week and
:03:14. > :03:20.make some cash. All the benefits, they are enjoying it and I left all
:03:21. > :03:24.alone to fulfil the responsibility. With responsibility there comes a
:03:25. > :03:32.prize, holiday pay, pension. I do want to be owned by a company. -- do
:03:33. > :03:42.not want to be owned by a company. I do not want their permission. I just
:03:43. > :03:43.cannot do that. Some very different views.
:03:44. > :03:48.Alex Mizzi is an employment lawyer at London law firm Howard Kennedy.
:03:49. > :04:00.This is clearly a test case for the UK when it comes to the gig economy.
:04:01. > :04:05.What are the ramifications for all companies doing things like this?
:04:06. > :04:10.They are all very different companies. It is certainly not just
:04:11. > :04:16.technology businesses that are going to be at sector by this. There are
:04:17. > :04:20.businesses that use self-employed Labour in a way which does not fit
:04:21. > :04:28.with the traditional image of self-employment. They are people
:04:29. > :04:33.working for less full-time and this will tell us whether it is legally
:04:34. > :04:39.and commercially viable. Theresa May, the Prime Minister in the UK,
:04:40. > :04:42.wants to review employment legislation in particular in regard
:04:43. > :04:46.to self-employment because so many people classified themselves as
:04:47. > :04:52.self-employed. Does that suggest there is a problem? There is public
:04:53. > :04:56.concern. Nine out of ten new jobs created in the last few months has
:04:57. > :05:00.been self-employed. A lot of those people are not people you would
:05:01. > :05:08.think that has entrepreneurs but people stuck in insecure work. May
:05:09. > :05:12.work for many people but for some it does not. There is a concern that
:05:13. > :05:17.this is a model to circumvent protection for workers. We have seen
:05:18. > :05:22.a real fall in trade union membership in the UK, who is left
:05:23. > :05:29.out to protect workers rights in this country? The GMB backing this
:05:30. > :05:33.case and they see it an opportunity to reach trade union protection to
:05:34. > :05:38.the class of people who traditionally have not had it out
:05:39. > :05:44.there is massive public interest and focus on the position of
:05:45. > :05:48.self-employed workers and insecure workers. There is the Parliamentary
:05:49. > :05:53.Select Committee enquiry announced the other day, HMRC are cracking
:05:54. > :05:58.down on it so a real likelihood of some further regulation in this
:05:59. > :06:00.area. We will look to it with interest.
:06:01. > :06:03.We are also looking at Alphabet - the company behind search giant
:06:04. > :06:07.Its shares have been on the rise in after hours trade after a 27%
:06:08. > :06:11.It made more than $5 dollars in the three months to September.
:06:12. > :06:13.It's mostly down to booming advertising sales.
:06:14. > :06:17.But Alphabet has also been spending a fortune gambling on new technology
:06:18. > :06:22.So are they paying off?Here's the BBC's Tech reporter
:06:23. > :06:35.Google's success in this quarter has been rubbed down to mobile
:06:36. > :06:41.advertising. In directions with mobile action has gone up by 33%
:06:42. > :06:51.which is quite something given that Google's Dikili -- Achilles' heel.
:06:52. > :06:59.That certainly seems to be unfounded. Massive increases in
:07:00. > :07:07.people interactive with mobile adds. Investors will not be concerned
:07:08. > :07:11.because they want engagement up on mobile and in that regard Google is
:07:12. > :07:19.soaring. Also of interest Alphabet from's earnings are what they call
:07:20. > :07:28.Other Bets, slightly more outlandish experimental ideas - things like
:07:29. > :07:40.Firebird efforts to install superfast broadband in cities all
:07:41. > :07:46.across the US. Other Bets Have made 97 billion dollars. An increase that
:07:47. > :07:53.will please investors. They are putting Alphabet under a lot of
:07:54. > :07:59.pressure to finally get them to make some money. Costs are also going
:08:00. > :08:05.down and investors will want to be patient because while Google's core
:08:06. > :08:15.business is search advertising, who knows which other of these other
:08:16. > :08:18.bets could be there big bonus in the future.
:08:19. > :08:21.From the world's biggest search engine to its Chinese rival -
:08:22. > :08:26.Things aren't going quite so well there -
:08:27. > :08:30.it has recorded its first ever fall in revenue in the three months
:08:31. > :08:33.And it's predicting another decline next quarter.
:08:34. > :08:37.A question for Mariko Oi who is following this for us
:08:38. > :08:51.What is happening to this company? People would think this is a really
:08:52. > :08:56.strong business indeed, Victoria, and it did come in at $2.7 billion
:08:57. > :09:01.for the three months so it is not bad at all but a guess at the
:09:02. > :09:07.company became too good to impress shares. The reason for this is
:09:08. > :09:12.because of a government crackdown on the company's health-care
:09:13. > :09:16.advertising business and that followed after the death of us who
:09:17. > :09:23.did who had terminal cancer who tried experimental cancer treatment
:09:24. > :09:33.which came at the top of his Baidu search. Before he died he criticised
:09:34. > :09:38.Baidu. Regulators slapped some curbs on the business and it is now
:09:39. > :09:42.starting to affect revenue. Very interesting how does one event can
:09:43. > :09:43.affect the fortunes of a major company.
:09:44. > :09:47.Belgium's regions have finally agreed to a free trade deal
:09:48. > :09:49.with Canada - after weeks of uncertainty.
:09:50. > :09:51.All 28 EU Governments backed signing the Comprehensive Economic
:09:52. > :09:55.and Trade Agreement or CETA - but up until now Belgium's central
:09:56. > :09:57.government has been prevented from signing because of objections
:09:58. > :09:59.led by the French-speaking Wallonia region.
:10:00. > :10:03.Supporters say CETA will boost the EU economy by $13 billion a year
:10:04. > :10:12.Critics though say it gives too much power to multinational firms
:10:13. > :10:14.Markets in Asia were trading cautiously on Friday
:10:15. > :10:18.after an overnight jump in sovereign bond yields resulted in a choppy
:10:19. > :10:22.The US dollar is back on the rise again, strengthening against various
:10:23. > :10:24.currencies on Thursday amid rising expectations
:10:25. > :10:33.that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
:10:34. > :10:36.Plenty more coming up later. See you soon.