Show caption ‘It’s expensive for us and cheap for the public,’ one Uber driver told MPs. Photograph: Graham Turner/The Guardian Gig economy Uber driver tells MPs: I work 90 hours but still need to claim benefits Drivers tell select committee investigating the gig economy they earn less than the minimum wage after they pay their costs Sarah Butler @whatbutlersaw Mon 6 Feb 2017 14.56 EST Share on Facebook

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Uber drivers have told MPs they felt trapped in a job that forced them to work long hours just to cover costs including the purchase of their cars.

The drivers told the Commons work and pensions select committee they were locked into their jobs after paying for expensive cars in order to get higher-paying customers.



“I made an investment in this business on the promise I would make good money,” said David Dunn, who works for Uber in Glasgow. But he said he was forced to work more than 60 hours a week to make money after Uber’s commission, insurance and other costs.

“It’s expensive for us and cheap for the public and those two don’t match very well,” Dunn said.

Syed Khalil, who drives for Uber in London, said it was usual practice for drivers to work as long as 100 hours a week and claimed the company did not prevent drivers from logging on to do so. After paying about £500 a month on insurance and towards the purchase of his car, Khalil said he was still on such a low income that he needed to claim housing benefit.

He said after a “honeymoon period” when he was first employed, Uber had upped the amount of commission it was taking from each fare and had brought in lots more drivers so it was difficult to get enough work.

Asked if they earn the equivalent of the national living wage of £7.20 an hour, Khalil and Dunn both said they did not after costs. Uber said on Monday that on average in the UK, drivers using its app make about £16 an hour after Uber’s fee and are logged in for about 27 hours a week.

“Tens of thousands of people in the UK drive with Uber precisely because they want to be self-employed and their own boss. The overwhelming majority of drivers who use the Uber app want to keep the freedom and flexibility of being able to drive when and where they want,” the company said in a statement.

A former driver for delivery firm Hermes also told the committee he did not earn the equivalent of the national living wage and that drivers working there saw their self-employed status as a way for the company to save money.

Marc Ramsden said: “No sick benefit, no holiday entitlement. If they sack you or stop your work or whatever there’s nothing you can do about it. You are self-employed. You work one day they don’t want you the next day, there’s nowhere to go. It doesn’t matter how long you have been there.”



Hermes told the Guardian: “We remain confident in the legitimacy of our self-employed courier model, which facilitates flexible working and earnings well in excess of the national minimum wage.”

The evidence to MPs comes amid a flurry of legal cases about the legal status of workers in the so-called gig economy. An employment tribunal in October found in favour of drivers for the Uber who argued they were not self-employed and should be classed as workers – meaning they are entitled to holiday pay and other benefits.

A cycle courier working for the delivery firm CitySprint last month won the right to be classed as a worker.