Uber appeals against reinstating driver accused of speeding, racist remarks

Uber has appealed against an order made by the fair work umpire to reinstate a driver who was banned after receiving 16 misconduct allegations, calling on the government to go further as it updates its deactivation laws concerning sexual harassment.

On Wednesday, the ride-share giant filed a notice of appeal to the Fair Work Commission which last month ruled that Uber had unfairly deactivated the driver’s account and would need to give him his job back and compensate him for a year of lost pay.

Uber’s appeal highlights key challenges in the enforcement of laws introduced last year aimed at strengthening protections for gig economy workers.

Those laws give Uber drivers the ability to appeal against being unfairly deactivated from a platform, pulling them closer in line with standard employees, who can lodge unfair dismissal claims.

On Friday, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth announced the government would make it easier for digital platforms to act more quickly, and with greater clarity, when deactivating drivers and operators facing sexual harassment allegations – including where there are repeated complaints or behaviour over time.

Platforms will also no longer need to share identifying details about a complainant with the accused worker, instead only needing to put any sexual harassment allegations in “general terms”.

Uber’s Australia and New Zealand head of safety, Nicole Ashcroft, said while she welcomed the government’s focus on sexual harassment claims, the narrow update left too many other safety gaps wide open and that the Digital Labour Deactivation Code was not being applied consistently or as intended.

The case concerns a Melbourne driver booted from the platform last year after receiving 16 misconduct allegations including touching a passenger without consent, driving more than 20km/h over the speed limit and deserting a passenger on the side of the road, making racist remarks and driving unsafely.

Commissioner Oanh Thi Tran, who was scathing of Uber requiring the Melbourne driver to challenge his deactivation via an automated chatbot which gave “nonsensical” responses, said the platform’s reliance on patterns of complaints fell short of its evidentiary onus to prove the conduct took place and inquire with complainants.

The company’s appeal includes a claim that Tran did not sufficiently account for evidence including a photo supplied by the passenger showing the driver reaching a speed of 119km/h in a 100 zone.

While Tran acknowledged Uber’s concerns about providing identifying information to workers, sh