{"id":9025,"date":"2025-07-11T19:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/?p=9025"},"modified":"2025-07-14T16:46:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T06:46:30","slug":"uber-driver-challenges-contract-in-landmark-gig-economy-case-blog-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/?p=9025","title":{"rendered":"Uber Driver Challenges Contract in Landmark Gig Economy Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The \u2018Good\u2019 in \u2018the Good, the Bad and the Ugly\u2019 from our 11 July 2025 podcast on <a href=\"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/?p=8988\">Working From Home<\/a>, from 11 July 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A self-represented Uber driver has launched a potentially precedent-setting case before the\u00a0Fair Work Commission (<strong>FWC<\/strong>) challenging the fairness of his contract under new laws introduced through the\u00a0Closing Loopholes reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On&nbsp;5 January 2025,&nbsp;Somphong (Em) Thongkhamchanh&nbsp;lodged an application under&nbsp;Section 536ND of the <em>Fair Work Act 2009<\/em> (Cth) (the <strong>FW Act<\/strong>), a provision introduced as part of the 2023 legislative amendments aimed at protecting independent contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What Is Section 536ND?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Section 536ND of the FW Act allows a person who is party to a services contract to apply to the FWC for a remedy if the contract contains&nbsp;unfair terms\u2014provided their income falls below the&nbsp;contractor high income threshold. This is part of a broader push to extend workplace protections to \u201cemployee-like\u201d workers in the gig economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Driver\u2019s Claims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thongkhamchanh alleges that Uber\u2019s contract:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Fails to hold the company accountable for\u00a0persistent app malfunctions\u00a0that prevent him from working;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allows Uber to\u00a0penalise drivers\u00a0for cancellations, even when caused by technical issues beyond their control; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enables\u00a0unsubstantiated accusations\u00a0(e.g. failing to report a lost item) to negatively impact drivers without due process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>He is seeking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Amendments to the contract requiring Uber to\u00a0promptly address technical issues\u00a0and improve communication with drivers; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$50,000 in compensation\u00a0for lost earnings, missed bonuses, and emotional distress caused by Uber\u2019s alleged negligence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Uber\u2019s Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uber, represented by&nbsp;Ashurst, argues that the contested contract terms do not relate to workplace relations matters and that the application should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The company also contends that the driver has not clearly identified which terms are allegedly unfair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why This Case Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the&nbsp;first major test&nbsp;of the new unfair contract term provisions under the Closing Loopholes reforms. The outcome could set a significant precedent for how digital platforms like Uber are held accountable for the terms they impose on gig workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case, listed as&nbsp;UC2025\/1, is being overseen by&nbsp;Deputy President Saunders, and a dedicated case page is available on the Fair Work Commission website titled \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fwc.gov.au\/hearings-decisions\/major-cases\/application-unfair-contract-term-remedy-uc20251\">Application for an unfair contract term remedy (UC2025\/1)<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fwc.gov.au\/documents\/sites\/uc2025-1\/uc20251-f91.pdf\">Application<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The \u2018Good\u2019 in \u2018the Good, the Bad and the Ugly\u2019 from our 11 July 2025 podcast on Working From Home, from 11 July 2025. A self-represented Uber driver has launched a potentially precedent-setting case before the\u00a0Fair Work Commission (FWC) challenging the fairness of his contract under new laws introduced through the\u00a0Closing Loopholes reforms. On&nbsp;5 January [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9025"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9028,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9025\/revisions\/9028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}