"Food delivery drivers fired after ‘cut-price’ GPS app sent them on ‘impossible’ routes", 2 July 2022

Drivers who deliver...for Just Eat have been fired after being misdirected by a cut-price GPS system, according to the union representing them.

The couriers, who work for Stuart...told the Observer they were sacked by pro-forma email after being mislocated by the GPS system or deviating from impossible or dangerous routes.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) claims there are dozens of couriers for Stuart in cities across the country...who have lost their jobs this way....

Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB, said the cases were “among the more egregious examples of a gig economy that is increasingly squeezing workers as much as possible and then just dropping them without any accountability.

“The decision to use this GPS system is about cutting costs for Stuart but the ramifications for couriers are huge,” he suggested...

Evidence shared with the Observer suggests Stuart brought its GPS system in-house as a cost-cutting measure and that it is aware of problems.

In a direct-message conversation on Twitter, shared with the Observer, a Stuart senior manager can be seen telling a courier: “Stuart has an internally built directions service and it’s not great. We used to use Google Maps directions but they put the price up 10x.”

When the courier replies “people get terminated for allegedly deviating from routes and you just said it is wrong”, the manager acknowledges: “it’s not perfect yes [sic].”...

Marshall said the IWGB had investigated 55 cases since March 2021 and that, in most instances, couriers were given no opportunity to review the decision with human involvement...

Screenshots and photographs shared with the Observer show a driver in Plymouth being routed through a building site, with warning signs visible, and a south-east London driver being sent through a road closure. Others show a driver in east London being directed to break traffic rules by turning right despite a no-right-turn sign...

Just Eat declined to comment...

Other couriers who spoke to the Observer after being terminated for routing and GPS reasons similarly described confusion over the cause of their terminations and frustration at the company’s refusal to respond to messages or engage in discussion...

A spokesperson for Stuart said the company “takes the issue of courier off-boarding very seriously”, adding: “We can’t comment publicly on individual cases, but we only make the decision to off-board when we have plenty of evidence to support our decision, without exceptions.”

They added: “Stuart operates an appeal process that is followed in every case where an appeal is submitted.”...