A GrabFood delivery partner, who was injured after a fall, received a shocking response from the company’s chat support team. The incident occurred on August 18, 2025, during heavy rain in the Orchard area. The rider sustained a 3cm cut on his calf, which made him unable to continue his delivery shift.
After completing a delivery, the rider was automatically assigned two new orders by the Grab app. Due to his injury, he immediately contacted Grab’s chat support to request that the orders be reassigned.
However, the support specialist, identified as Arif, was unaccommodating. Arif questioned why the rider had accepted the jobs if he was aware of his injury and the rain, despite the rider’s explanation that the orders were automatically assigned and not accepted manually.
The delivery partner, who has been working with Grab since 2020, expressed his shock at the chat specialist’s response. He felt the comment was “appalling” and noted that this was not the first time he had experienced such treatment from the support team. He also explained that canceling the orders himself, as suggested by the specialist, would have negatively affected his shift incentives. Ultimately, one of the orders was cancelled by the customer, and the rider had to cancel the other himself.
The rider later shared his experience on social media, prompting an inquiry from Mothership.sg.
Grab’s Apology and Action
A Grab spokesperson issued an apology for the incident, stating, “We are sorry for the inaccurate and not up to standard response that our delivery partner received. When a delivery partner is involved in an accident, they should stop their shift immediately. Our support team should have immediately cancelled the orders and reassigned them to other partners.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that the company has addressed the issue directly with the customer service personnel involved to ensure such a situation does not happen again. The company is taking steps to learn from this incident and prevent it from recurring in the future.
This incident, while regrettable, highlights a crucial area of concern for many self-employed individuals in the gig economy. As of January 1, 2025, platform workers in Singapore, including delivery partners, are covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). This new framework ensures that they have access to a “no-fault” compensation system for work-related injuries, which covers medical expenses, income loss compensation for medical leave, and a lump sum payout for permanent incapacity or death. This provides a vital safety net that was previously unavailable to many.
In addition to this government-mandated protection, platform workers who are also members of NTUC-affiliated associations, such as the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA), can receive further support. This includes the NTUC Care Fund (Work Injury Relief), which provides a one-off payment of $250 worth of grocery vouchers to help tide them over during their recovery, offering immediate financial relief for daily necessities. This incident serves as a timely reminder for all platform workers to be aware of their rights and the support systems available to them, both from the government and the labour movement, should they find themselves in a similar unfortunate situation.
