Uber Eats Accused of Underpaying Taiwan Delivery Workers via Algorithm
Taiwan delivery worker unions filed fraud charges against Uber Eats, alleging the platform used an algorithmic payment system to systematically underpay workers on multi-order deliveries in violation of a new law that took effect in July 2026. The unions claim Uber Eats knowingly deployed a non-compliant calculation method to generate unlawful profits at workers' expense.
What happened
Taiwan delivery worker unions filed fraud charges against Uber Eats on August 10, 2026, at the Taipei District Prosecutors Office. The unions alleged that Uber Eats violated Taiwan's Delivery Workers Rights and Platform Management Law (implemented July 21, 2026) by using an algorithmic payment system to underpay workers on multi-order deliveries ('stacked orders').
The law requires a minimum payment of 45 New Taiwan Dollars per order and 4.1 dollars per minute, with each order calculated separately. According to the unions, Uber Eats adopted a new proprietary calculation method that the Labour Department later determined violated the law. In one example cited, workers completing two deliveries over 54 minutes should have received 220.6 dollars under the law, but Uber Eats paid only 118.5 dollars.
Reported impact
Workers lost significant income as a result of the underpayment. Spokespersons reported that delivery workers were systematically short-paid on stacked orders, with one union representative stating he personally was short-paid 466.2 dollars in a single billing period.
The unions stated that Uber Eats employed algorithmic opacity to conceal the payment calculation mechanism from workers and that the platform leveraged technical advantages to evade legal requirements, placing the financial burden on delivery workers.
Index analysis
The incident involved an algorithmic payment system that workers and regulators stated did not comply with statutory requirements. The unions alleged that Uber Eats deliberately deployed the algorithm knowing it violated the new law, described as an intentional strategy to generate 'unlawful profits' through underpayment.
The unions asserted that the platform had previously acknowledged the law's requirements in December 2025 and in a July 2026 app notification promising automatic compliance adjustment, before implementing the non-compliant calculation method in its first supplementary payment report on August 6, 2026.
Governance controls
Taiwan's Delivery Workers Rights and Platform Management Law, effective July 21, 2026, established minimum payment thresholds and required per-order itemization of compensation. The Labour Department issued clarification on the law's application.
The unions announced plans to pursue both administrative complaints to local labor authorities and criminal charges through the justice system, committing to collect order records and settlement data to support enforcement action.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.