The ride-sharing company has announced that every Uber driver in the UK will be eligible for 20 hours of free childcare as part of its new employee scheme.

Andrew Brem, the general manager of Uber UK, said: "We really, really would like to attract more female drivers onto the Uber platform."

Uber claims to have already trialled free childcare with 1,000 drivers, and the company has received an overwhelming positive response so far.

Brem told BBC News: "Like some other occupations, [Uber driving] happens to be predominantly male - that's not something that we'd like."

However, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain has already rubbished the idea, describing it as a "cynical PR stunt".

The union told the BBC: "If Uber really wanted to support families, they would pay drivers enough money so that they could afford time off to be with their children.

"Instead Uber's insultingly low fees force drivers to spend so long on the roads that in many cases relationships rupture and families are broken up."

In 2024, Uber drivers in Glasgow complained that their wages had fallen, despite price increases being passed on to consumers.

In response the complaints, Brem said: "I haven't yet come across an employee survey, including our own, where people don't say that they want to earn more.

"I do understand that our main role in helping them more, though, is to is to keep the platform super busy, so our focus is on actually growth of demand."