Uber has been granted leave to appeal a landmark judgement last October that four Uber drivers were employees, not contractors.
That New Zealand Employment Court judgement echoed throughout the rideshare world.
Essentially, workers' rights are different for employees and contractors, and the rideshare giant would have greater responsibilities towards its drivers if they were found to be employees rather than contractors.
Now, Uber will be given another chance to make its case that the company's drivers are contractors.
In issuing today's decision, Court of Appeal Judge Jillian Mallon noted the "potential broader impact for a large number of other drivers" and also the potential impact on other businesses.
First Union quickly issued a statement saying Uber "would very much like to return to the early 'cowboy' days of their arrival in New Zealand, where our lax employment laws could be easily skirted and exploited".
Union president Robert Reid said drivers were confident of winning their case regardless.
"Returning to the Employment Court just offers us another chance to conclusively show that Uber has wrongly denied its workers employment rights in order to wring every last dollar from New Zealand's economy and workers," he said.
Uber New Zealand general manager Emma Foley responded to today's decision by emphasising that "gig workers play a vital role in communities across New Zealand and make a significant contribution to the national economy".
"While we are pleased to have been granted leave to appeal... it is our view that industry-wide standards and better protections for Kiwi gig workers should be enacted through legislation," she said.
"Governments around the world have embraced the changing nature of work and have begun passing fit-for-purpose laws that better protect gig workers and flexible working arrangements. There's no reason New Zealand can't join them."
In the judgement today, Judge Mallon acknowledged "new ways" of working, and "fast-moving changes" to work arrangements.
A date has not yet been set for the appeal.
You can watch TVNZ Chief Correspondent John Campbell's in-depth piece on the Uber economy and the original judgement's reverberations here.
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