Instead of blaming Uber for having work available for people who want to only do a few hours per week (or who can’t do more for whatever reason), why not blame the government for not updating their rules to better fit the actual reality on the ground?
> Four working single mothers have won a High Court challenge over the government's universal credit scheme.
> They argued a "fundamental problem" with the system meant their monthly payments varied "enormously", leaving them out of pocket and struggling financially
Note that these are working mothers.
US companies really need to understand the English concept of "taking the piss".
No-one expects companies to pay all their tax and obey the law all the time. What they do expect is that companies do not take the piss. Uber is taking the piss, and they're going to be regulated if they don't make changes.
> blame the government for not updating their rules
I'm doing that too.
This is a route back into employment for people who've spent years out of work. The intent is to provide a ramp from "no work, full benefits", though "some work, some benefits", to "full time paid employment, no benefits". (in fact, with tax credits, many people in full time (over 16 hours per week) work are also getting state benefits).
This ramp is broken by the gig economy because zero-hours contracts make it impossible for the state to know how much top-up benefit to pay month to month. This plunges people into debt and poverty.
The gig economy employers benefit because they don't have to pay a lving wage, they don't need to compete for workers by offering sensible wages.
This is an unintented distortion of the free-market. If you believe in free markets you should wish to see the end of this distortion.