LONDON: Uber on Tuesday said it is granting worker status to its UK drivers, handing them benefits including a minimum wage, in a world first for the US ride-hailing giant.

From Wednesday, "more than 70,000 drivers in the UK will be treated as workers, earning at least the national living wage when driving with Uber," the taxi app said in a statement following a British Supreme Court ruling last month that could shake up the wider "gig economy".