"Uber ordered to reinstate driver accused of dangerous driving,"

Uber has been ordered to reinstate a driver accused of dangerous driving and inappropriate behaviour, in another ruling that found the ride-share giant’s complaints process failed to meet Australia’s new gig worker protections.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled this week that Uber did not provide enough information to the driver about the allegations against him and failed to properly investigate whether the complaints were true...

The FWC heard he had received a number of complaints, including allegations of using his phone while driving, dangerous driving, speeding by more than 20km, tailgating other vehicles, and yelling at a customer.

When informed by Uber about these complaints, the driver denied them each time.

Uber then replied the matter was considered resolved and he could continue driving...

In response, Uber blocked his access to the account and informed him of the complaint about “non-consensual touching”.

After the man denied these claims, Uber said it had conducted a review and he was reactivated, but FWC was shown no evidence about what this review entailed.

In May last year another complaint was made about the driver, and he was sent a preliminary deactivation notice in June stating he had “previously been reported for multiple instances of discrimination, which is a direct violation of your agreement with Uber”.

Two weeks later, Uber permanently deactivated his account...

Under the new laws in Australia, gig economy workers must be given a right to respond to a preliminary deactivation, which must include sufficient information, and that the worker can seek assistance or support from another person who isn’t a lawyer.

Uber argued the repeated complaints justified the driver’s removal from the platform.

Fair Work Commissioner Oanh Thi Tran found the notices too vague to justify the deactivation...