Taxi service firm, Uber, has been hit by another scandal which is threatening to dent customer confidence in the firm.
Former Uber engineer, Susan Fowler, has made a number of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, claiming that management repeatedly dismissed her complaints, protected a repeat offender and threatened to sack her for raising concerns.
Ms Fowler, who worked for Uber in the USA from November 2015 to December 2016, made her claims public on her blog, prompting the company’s CEO Travis Kalanick to announce an “urgent investigation”.
These latest allegations come hard on the heels of a well-publicised employment tribunal late last year, when Uber was found to have broken UK employment laws, having failed to pay its drivers the national minimum wage by falsely claiming they were self-employed.
At the time, many customers were apparently so outraged by Uber’s treatment of its drivers that they cancelled their accounts, fuelled by the #DeleteUber campaign that went viral.
Now, it would appear that these fresh allegations against the global taxi service provider have prompted yet more Uber users to cancel their accounts.
This time Uber is attempting to defend itself by referring directly to the negative news. Users who attempt to delete their accounts receive a response stating:
“Everyone at Uber is deeply hurting after reading Susan Fowler’s blog post. We believe in creating a workplace where a deep sense of justice underpins everything we do and it’s everyone’s number one priority to create change in the coming months and years.”
Lara Murray an Associate and employment law expert with Palmers, said: “The situation faced by Uber underlines how a company’s reputation and public perception can so easily be damaged as a result of employment law issues.
“Having in place fully compliant employment contracts and a clearly defined process for employees to raise complaints regarding unfair treatment in the workplace can not only lead to a happier workforce but could also protect an organisation’s reputation and ultimately its bottom line.”
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