Uber said dismissal laws for gig workers are jeopardising passengers’ safety after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) ordered the rideshare company to reinstate a driver who faced dangerous driving complaints. The rideshare company flagged concerns with Safe Transport Victoria after an FWC decision. The rideshare company is actively appealing an order to reinstate a specific driver. This appeal concerns a driver who faced complaints regarding speeding and erratic behavior.
FWC Ruling Overturned Deactivation
The FWC judged that the driver was unfairly deactivated for speeding and erratic driving while on social media. Per the Australian Financial Review, the ruling was partly because the complaining passengers did not testify against the driver on the witness stand. Three complaints had been logged against the driver over a four-month period; one accused him of going nearly 50km/h over the speed limit.
The passenger claimed that the driver had been swerving and running into potholes while texting and engaging with YouTube. The other two complaints accused the driver of speeding while on Instagram and phone calls. Uber’s logs show the driver exceeded speed limits, reaching 93km/h in a 60km/h zone, 89km/h in a 40km/h zone, and 92km/h in an 80km/h zone.
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Safety Risks and Data Gaps
Crawford found the driver’s evidence held up during cross-examination, while the passengers provided no proof of the allegations. He also noted Uber failed to disclose adequate detail about the complaints. “It is conceivable that the three riders may have taken a dislike to [the driver] for a range of reasons and this could have prompted them to complain about his driving”, Crawford said in a statement published by AFR.
The commissioner added that due to inadequate raw driving data, he could not uphold Uber’s interpretation of the driver’s speed on the evidence. Crawford considered the driver’s record and concluded he was unlikely to have driven dangerously. Crawford noted that Uber itself had not disclosed adequate detail about the complaints to the driver, which significantly limited his ability to respond.
Appeals and Industry Response
Uber is seeking to stay the reactivation order and is appealing the ruling. The company called on the Commonwealth to amend the deactivation regime to balance procedural fairness with public safety. Michael Kaine, national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), argued in a statement published by AFR that Uber had to invest in “proper human-led processes instead of algorithms”. “We’ve already seen the FWC slam Uber’s complaint-handling as ‘illogical’ and ‘arbitrary’ in previous judgments,” Kaine said. “In this judgment we are seeing another example of inconsistent, opaque processes used by Uber to attempt to end a person’s livelihood, to the point where the company can’t even agree with itself on its data.”
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Previous Reinstatements
Uber warned Safe Transport Victoria that other deactivated drivers with misconduct claims were recently reinstated. These included a driver accused of speeding, phone use, causing a crash, and making sexualized comments. The Transport Workers’ Union represented the driver in this case. Uber expressed concern that allowing such reinstatements would set a precedent that weakens their ability to manage driver conduct effectively.
Uber is presently appealing the ruling and Nicole Ashcroft called on the Commonwealth to prioritize amending the deactivation regime. “This case is further evidence that the current system is not working as intended. Platforms must be able to act on legitimate safety reports and patterns of concerning behaviour to protect riders and the broader public,” Ashcroft said in a statement published by AFR.
