Taxi-hailing service admits drivers in Scotland and several cities outside London will have to wait to get earnings

Hundreds of Uber drivers have not been paid this week and have been told they will have to wait until next week to get their earnings.

The taxi-hailing service, which is already facing legal claims from drivers who believe they have been wrongly classed as self-employed, said drivers in Scotland and a number of cities outside London had been affected by what it said was a banking glitch.

An Uber spokesperson said: “Unfortunately an error by the bank has meant that payments due by today were delayed to a very small proportion of drivers who use our app. We immediately contacted the bank about this and they have already re-initiated the payments to arrive by Monday. We have contacted everybody affected to explain what has happened and offer our sincere apologies.”

Uber facing hundreds more claims from drivers for back pay Read more

Uber sent an email to drivers telling them they would receive payment on Monday, but some drivers claimed they had been warned that their money may not arrive until next Wednesday.

Without their weekly pay, some drivers said they would be unable to pay bills or buy petrol in order to work over the weekend. Others had incurred bank fees, because direct debit payments had gone out of their bank without cover from their expected pay.



One driver said: “If I am unable to get payment then I am left with half a tank of fuel and then I am out of work.”

Steve Garelick, a branch secretary at the GMB trade union who was involved in a high court action against Uber over the employment status of drivers, said: “Surely it is not beyond the wit of man to make a payment in a prompt fashion. How do they expect people to cover this? Are Uber going to compensate drivers for the extra expenses they incur?”