FAQ & Help/Partnership/

Wheely is making changes to its business model

Wheely is changing our Terms and Conditions (“T& Cs”) and Privacy Policy to reflect that, in certain cases, our subsidiary Wheely London Ltd will be the principal transport provider. The changes will come into effect on 4 November 2024.

In reality, there will be few practical changes, but any changes are explained below.

How does this impact you?

1. If you are a partner without an operator’s license and you are licensed with TfL, you will be paid by Wheely London:
   ​
   Wheely London Limited will provide journeys to customers and you will contract with Wheely London Limited to provide journeys on its behalf. This means that passengers will pay Wheely directly, and Wheely will then pay you for completing journeys.
   ​
   As a result you will see the following differences:
   ​
   ​Partner statements and invoices
   You will still see gross fare and the commission in the receipt of every journey. However, the invoices and statements from now on will match the numbers in the earning section of the Chauffeur App. Wheely’s commission will no longer be listed in your invoice.
   ​
   ​VAT Treshhold
   Only your net earnings (i.e. net fares without Wheely’s commission) will count towards the £90,000 VAT threshold.
   ​
   These changes don’t affect your work or how you provide the services — you will still be able to accept or reject journeys and receive the same payouts as you did before.
   ​

2. If you are a partner:
   ​a) licensed with any local authority other than TfL; or
   ​b) with a UK operator licence
   ​
   There are no changes for you. You will continue to provide services directly to the customer as the provider, and continue to be paid by Wheely Technologies Ltd.

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From now on, partners are able to work with Wheely if they have an operator’s licence — regardless of where it was issued (anywhere in the UK). If you have an operator’s license but have not yet uploaded it to the system, please do so via Dashboard.

The reason for implementing the dual approach is that Wheely Technologies operates the Wheely platform for the UK and the rest of the world, from the UK. From an operational perspective, Wheely would like to ensure that, as far as possible, a consistent approach applies to its operations in respect of Wheely Technologies acting as the intermediary across geographies regardless of whether the Wheely app is being used in London, Paris or Dubai for instance.

We have included answers to some Frequently Asked Questions below. If you have any questions which are not covered by the FAQs, please feel free to reach out to us at londonpartners@wheely.com.

FAQ

What is changing and why?

• The High Court ruled in December 2021 that operators such as Wheely must be the principal transport provider for private hire journeys in London.

• For journeys outside London, the 2021 ruling does not apply (as confirmed by the Court of Appeal in the Uber v Sefton case heard earlier this year).

• This means that for certain journeys, Wheely London Ltd will contract directly with the customer as principal transport provider (instead of acting as the agent between the partner and the passenger, which has historically been the case). This will only be the case where the journey is performed by a partner who is licensed with TfL but who does not have a Private Hire Operator’s licence (PHO). In these FAQs, we refer to such partners as the “Sub-Partners”.

How do these changes affect my day-to-day work?

• These changes don’t affect your work or how you provide the services — you will still be able to accept or reject journeys and receive the same payouts as you did before.

• The changes mean that you will be paid either by Wheely London Ltd (if you do not have an operators license and are licensed by TfL) or by Wheely Technologies (otherwise).

• You will still see gross fare and the commission in the receipt of every journey. However, the invoices and statements from now on will match the numbers in the earning section of the Chauffeur App. Wheely’s commission will no longer be listed in your invoice.

Where do these changes apply?

All partners who use the Wheely App must agree to the new T& Cs. In practice, however, the changes will only make a difference to Sub-Partners (i.e. Wheely partners who are licensed by TfL but who do not have a PHO). These Sub-Partners will notice the changes to their invoices described above.

What do I need to do?

You don’t need to do anything. By continuing to use the App, you confirm you agree to the updated T& Cs.

What if I don’t agree with these changes?

If you do not accept these changes, you can terminate your contract with Wheely at any time by contacting us at londonpartners@wheely.com

Will this affect my current employment status?

No, Wheely will still treat you as an independent contractor and any tax obligations you have will remain your responsibility.