Uber sees “green shoots” of recovery as recruitment spree gets into gear
Uber are planning to hire an additional 20,000 drivers across the UK this year as the firm sees the first signs of an economic recovery.
The firm’s Northern and Eastern Europe boss Jamie Heywood, who is based in London, told City A.M. that “green shoots” are “coming through exceptionally strongly” as lockdown restrictions loosen.
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Uber saw fifty per cent week-on-week growth in the days after April 12, when English pubs, restaurants and shops were allowed to resume service.
Heywood described the uplift as a “real sign that cities are coming back to life” and said he was therefore “very optimistic” about a further increase in riders from May 17, when hospitality firms can welcome people both inside as well as outside.
The firm now has some 70,000 riders on its books in the UK.
The recent increase has been driven predominantly by an uptick in rides during what the firm calls ‘party hours,’ as Londoners reacquaint themselves with each other and their favourite haunts.
Uber now offers drivers minimum wage when on trips in addition to holiday pay and auto-enrolment in a pension scheme after the Supreme Court confirmed drivers should be seen as workers, rather than self-employed contractors.
Heywood said the minimum wage was a “floor” and that the average Uber driver earned the equivalent of £17 hour when on a trip.
The firm has recently launched a ‘green’ option in which passengers can choose to be driven in an electric vehicle.
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