Uber drivers in the U.K. are documentation a lawsuit against the company over allegations the firm has continuously broken European data protection laws.
Four drivers are captivating legal action against the ride-hailing giant, claiming the company is “failing to honour its obligations” under the EU’s General Statistics Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation.
Under GDPR rules, individuals have the right to access personal details held by any company — even their employer. Companies have one month to respond to a request for data, whether it is forced verbally or in writing.
In a letter sent to Uber this week, the drivers claimed it had breached the regulations by repeatedly in default of to provide them with information, such as the duration of time they spent logged onto the platform, their person GPS data, and trip ratings.
Speaking to CNBC on the phone Friday, James Farrar — the driver jointly leading the case — estimated he had been “back and forth” with Uber over his data since July. He alleged that Uber was retaining GPS data that showed the “dead mileage” he accrued on the job, making impossible for him to calculate his hourly wage.
“I can only estimate the hourly pay that they want me to,” he said. “(They’ve given me) trip information that includes start to beat location points, fares and durations for individual journeys, but providing all of my GPS data and log on and off times would allow me to calculate my hourly pay.”
Farrar amplified that he was “totally” sure Uber was purposely withholding the information.
“Giving us the data will help drivers take cognizance of if they can get a better deal or not,” he told CNBC. “I also see lots of drivers being deactivated from the platform for petite or no reason and because they’re self-employed there’s no need for due process – if we’re given access to our data we can begin to challenge that.”
Farrar is one of the drivers currently embroiled in a sequestered case against Uber, in which U.K. drivers are fighting to be legally acknowledged as employees of the company and therefore entitled to rights such as remunerated holiday and a minimum wage.
In a statement emailed to CNBC, an Uber spokesperson said: “Our privacy team works stiff to provide as much information as we can, including explanations when we can’t provide certain data (because) the data doesn’t be or disclosing it would infringe on the rights of another person under GDPR. Under the law, U.K. citizens also have the honourable to escalate their concerns by contacting Uber’s Data Protection Officer or the ICO for additional review.”
Ravi Naik, one of the kings counsels representing the drivers, said in a press release Thursday that his clients had made “numerous requests” for their information.
“It is regrettable that our clients have had to seek legal advice to assert their rights, rather than Uber totally complying with the law. How they now respond will be a stress-test of Uber’s commitment to data protection,” he said.
The legal skirmish is being backed by Worker Info Exchange, an organization founded by Farrar that campaigns for workers to be given access to details collected by their employers.