Are Uber Drivers Background Checked?

We deal with many service providers in our lives, trusting them to work in our homes, serve us in restaurants or drive us to places. We rarely pose to ask ourselves if a private investigator performed a background check on them before they were hired.

Uber offers a good example of why every company needs to hire an investigator to perform a background check on their employees before hiring them. Several issues since the entry of Uber into the UK demonstrate the importance of background checks.

Whenever a company takes on a huge workforce in a short time, certain undesirable people can slip through the cracks. This is why many companies can hire a private investigator to perform a background check on new or even existing employees.

Uber drivers are regularly entrusted to drive people from one location to the next. Because of this, they have access to a lot of information about the individual e.g. the location of their home.

In the UK, Uber drivers are background checked, however, these checks are not handled by Uber themselves. These checks are done by investigators from regulatory bodies that issue licenses to the drivers who can then apply to work for companies such as Uber. The investigators used by the regulatory bodies look into the criminal, driving and other records to ensure that the driver is competent at their job and that they don't pose a potential risk to the customers they may serve.