Uber drivers' working hours prompt fears over 'excessive and unsafe' 65-hour weeks

Low net rates of pay could be encouraging Uber's drivers to work 'excessive' hours to earn up to £3300 a month

Uber driver awaits passenger at SFO International Airport AP

The smartphone cab service Uber has changed a page on its UK website which reportedly encouraged drivers to work 65-hour weeks, amid concerns that drivers work “excessive and unsafe” hours driving on the service.

The entry page previously told potential recruits that driving with Uber could “turn your car into a money machine.” The website promised drivers could earn £3360 a month “based on average net payments of partner-drivers in London who have driven 55-65 hours [per week] in November 2015.”

Uber changed the page to claim that drivers could earn a smaller amount of £3300 by being “logged in to the Uber app for 55-65 hours per week” after being contacted by the Sunday Telegraph.

Uber treats its drivers as independent contractors. (Getty Images)

But according to Uber’s own general manager in New York, Josh Mohrer, the hours recommended are still potentially dangerous.

Uber in New York recently banned drivers from working long hours.

In an open letter to the city’s taxi and limousine commission he wrote that it is “unsafe to use the Uber app for more than 12 hours at a time.”

However, an Uber spokesman in London told the Sunday Telegraph it would not be following the New York model, saying : “Uber does not set hours or shifts and drivers who partner with us can choose the hours they work.”

The spokesman said drivers who drove too many hours would receive a message from Uber about safe driving, but did not specify how many hours was too many.

Uber treats its drivers as independent contractors, but drivers must pay 25 per cent of each fare to Uber. Drivers must also pay the cost of petrol, maintenance and insurance of their vehicles.

To earn £20,000 a year a driver would have to work 68 hours a week.

Steve Garelick, the private hire drivers’ branch secretary for the GMB union, which represents a number of Uber drivers, told the Sunday Telegraph drivers were being encouraged to work “excessive and unsafe” hours because the company’s net rates of pay can amount to as little as £5.68 an hour in London after costs.

“We definitely know of Uber drivers who have to work more than 12 hours a day,” he said.

An Uber spokesman told the Sunday Telegraph the company took excessive work hours “very seriously” and “regularly discusses driving habits with partners”.