A female driver from London has launched a sex discrimination case against Uber, alleging that the company’s working practices unfairly disadvantage women.
The Employment Tribunal claim is being brought by the GMB union, on behalf of the woman Uber driver, who wants to remain anonymous.
According to the union, the driver says that the way Uber asks her to operate is putting her and other women ‘at risk’. She claims that drivers do not know their passenger’s destination until the passenger is already in the car and if a passenger’s journey is to a 'remote or unsafe' area, the driver has no option to cancel the journey.
It added that if a customer becomes aggressive in the car, the driver cannot cancel the journey and, if he or she asks the passenger to leave the car, it could result in a customer complaint and low rating, which could affect future work.
The claim argues that Uber should allow drivers to challenge complaints and low ratings, so that drivers do not risk losing their jobs if they ask passengers to leave their cars for their own safety.
Maria Ludkin, GMB legal director, said: ‘We look forward to allowing the courts to examine whether this aspect of their model discriminates against women drivers.’
An Uber spokesperson said: 'Drivers on the Uber app are free to log in and out as they want and can choose which trips they want to take, or cancel, without any penalty. If a driver doesn’t want to go to a particular area there is no obligation for them to do so. Drivers can also set a preferred destination in the app and Uber will only allocate bookings heading that way.
'One of the main reasons why women choose to drive with Uber is because of the safety features in the app. All trips are GPS tracked and a driver is able to share a live map of their trip with a friend or loved one.'
Last week, Transport for London announced that it would not renew Uber’s licence to operate in the capital beyond the end of this month, a decision that the company is appealing against, although Uber's CEO has also admitted that the firm has made ‘mistakes’.
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