Has Uber’s dynamic pay cut into your livelihood?
Has Uber’s dynamic pay cut into your livelihood?
Uber’s dynamic pay system has left many drivers earning less, paying higher commissions, facing unpredictable shifts, and longer waiting times. A new collective action in the Netherlands is working to challenge these practices.
how it works
Uber drivers have told us the algorithm has made your work increasingly difficult - more hours, more waiting, higher commissions but less pay. This collective legal action empowers Uber drivers to stand together for fairness, to demand justice and to secure redress. For more information on the claim, please visit our website.
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We’ll keep you informed by email as the case progresses through the Dutch courts.
More Details About the Legal Action
From 2020 onwards, Uber took advantage of the pandemic crisis to implement its so called “Upfront Pricing” model in the Netherlands, the UK and other European markets. The tried and tested model of paying drivers on the basis of time and distance was abandoned in favour of prices fixed by Uber in advance of every trip. In 2022, Uber went a step further in the UK by also making its commissions variable, claiming this would better match driver supply with rider demand.
But behind these promises, the new pay algorithm quietly shifted risk onto drivers while allowing Uber to increase its hidden commission, in some cases taking more than half of the fare.
As a result, Uber has massively increased its profits and doubled its share price. As financial journalist Hubert Horan wrote, Uber has become stunningly successful by “using algorithmic manipulation and other more extreme forms of market power to transfer wealth from workers to shareholders.” We say this is not only morally wrong, it is unlawful. Now is the time for drivers to take collective action to correct this injustice.
As one driver told us:
"They are robbing us and the customer."
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the claim about & why is this case being brought?
Uber’s use of a dynamic pay system — an algorithm that allocates work and sets driver pay in real time. The way Uber operates this is in violation of the EU General Data Protection Act (GDPR).
The introduction of Dynamic Pay by Uber has led to substantially reduced driver pay and increased commissions, has made work less predictable, and has led to increased wait times between trips. At the same time, Uber has substantially increased fares but has not shared the gains fairly with drivers. Uber is not transparent about how the algorithm works. It is apparent that Uber has used driver historical data to train its algorithm to allocate work and set pay in a way that maximises profits for Uber while leaving drivers shortchanged.
This is not only unfair, we believe it is unlawful and drivers are entitled to compensation.
Separately, Uber has already been fined for transferring driver data to the United States between August 2021 and September 2023 in a manner that was unlawful. We believe drivers are also entitled to compensation for this breach of the law.
In summary, we are claiming for unlawful use of dynamic pay systems, breach of transparency duties, unlawful use of data for training algorithms, and unlawful transfer of driver data to the US. The case asks the court to decide that Uber’s Dynamic Pay system breaches fairness and transparency rules in the GDPR, and to make Uber pay drivers fairly and show how pay is calculated.
Join us so that we can collectively fight for compensation for lost pay due and to bring an end to Uber’s unlawful use of dynamic pay systems. For more information on the claim, please visit our website.
Who can join?
You are eligible to join our claim if you have driven for Uber at any time after November 2020, in the in the Netherlands, the UK, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For more information on the claim, please visit our website.
Does it cost anything to take part?
You do not have to pay anything. WIE International will receive external funding for this case from Innsworth Capital (Funder). If the claim against Uber is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay anything. If the claim is successful and drivers receive compensation, the Funder will be reimbursed for the costs of litigation and other costs involved in the action.
The Funder will also be entitled to receive a success fee in return for the risk it has incurred. WIE International will seek to have the costs and success fee paid by Uber. If that is not successful, these will be deducted from your compensation - but only if you receive any payment. The success fee amounts to a maximum of 25% of your compensation, or 22.5% if you are a member of a labour union or other relevant worker representative organisation. For more information on the claim, please visit our website.
Will I definitely receive compensation, and how much might I receive?
No one can promise that. If the claim is successful either through a court judgment or negotiated settlement, you may receive compensation. But as a famous trade union leader once said: “if we fight we might not win; if we don’t fight we won’t win.” Join our fight for justice for Uber workers. For more information on the claim, please visit our website.
We will seek compensation for the loss in pay since introduction of Dynamic Pay and compensation for non-financial losses including for stress and anxiety caused by Uber’s behaviour. The amount you might actually receive will be determined by judgment of the court or from a negotiated settlement with Uber. WIE will be fighting to get all workers who join the claim the best outcome possible.
Could Uber punish me for taking part, and will Uber know if I’ve joined?
It would be unlawful and extremely unwise for Uber or anyone else to punish, threaten, or deactivate you for joining the claim. Your participation is protected by data, employment and trade union law. Only anonymized or grouped information may be used for court purposes. If you also mandate us to submit Data Access Requests with Uber, we will, of course, need to disclose your identity to Uber. For more information on the claim, please visit our website.
