diff --git a/lib/puppet/parser/functions/uriescape.rb b/lib/puppet/parser/functions/uriescape.rb
index b7de4c1..354ad22 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/parser/functions/uriescape.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/parser/functions/uriescape.rb
@@ -1,38 +1,38 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 require 'uri'
 #
 #  uriescape.rb
 #  Please note: This function is an implementation of a Ruby class and as such may not be entirely UTF8 compatible. To ensure compatibility please use this function with Ruby 2.4.0 or greater - https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/10085.
 #
 module Puppet::Parser::Functions
   newfunction(:uriescape, type: :rvalue, doc: <<-DOC
     @summary
       Urlencodes a string or array of strings.
       Requires either a single string or an array as an input.
 
     @return [String]
       a string that contains the converted value
 
     DOC
   ) do |arguments|
     raise(Puppet::ParseError, "uriescape(): Wrong number of arguments given (#{arguments.size} for 1)") if arguments.empty?
 
     value = arguments[0]
 
     unless value.is_a?(Array) || value.is_a?(String)
       raise(Puppet::ParseError, 'uriescape(): Requires either array or string to work with')
     end
 
     result = if value.is_a?(Array)
                # Numbers in Puppet are often string-encoded which is troublesome ...
-               value.map { |i| i.is_a?(String) ? URI.escape(i) : i }
+               value.map { |i| i.is_a?(String) ? URI::DEFAULT_PARSER.escape(i) : i }
              else
-               URI.escape(value)
+               URI::DEFAULT_PARSER.escape(value)
              end
 
     return result
   end
 end
 
 # vim: set ts=2 sw=2 et :
diff --git a/spec/functions/uriescape_spec.rb b/spec/functions/uriescape_spec.rb
index 3ac632a..81b27c3 100644
--- a/spec/functions/uriescape_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/functions/uriescape_spec.rb
@@ -1,38 +1,38 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 describe 'uriescape' do
   describe 'signature validation' do
     it { is_expected.not_to eq(nil) }
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params.and_raise_error(Puppet::ParseError, %r{wrong number of arguments}i) }
     it {
       pending('Current implementation ignores parameters after the first.')
       is_expected.to run.with_params('', '').and_raise_error(Puppet::ParseError, %r{wrong number of arguments}i)
     }
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params(1).and_raise_error(Puppet::ParseError, %r{Requires either array or string to work}) }
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params({}).and_raise_error(Puppet::ParseError, %r{Requires either array or string to work}) }
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params(true).and_raise_error(Puppet::ParseError, %r{Requires either array or string to work}) }
   end
 
   describe 'handling normal strings' do
-    it 'calls ruby\'s URI.escape function' do
-      expect(URI).to receive(:escape).with('uri_string').and_return('escaped_uri_string').once
+    it 'calls ruby\'s URI::DEFAULT_PARSER.escape function' do
+      expect(URI::DEFAULT_PARSER).to receive(:escape).with('uri_string').and_return('escaped_uri_string').once
       is_expected.to run.with_params('uri_string').and_return('escaped_uri_string')
     end
   end
 
   describe 'handling classes derived from String' do
-    it 'calls ruby\'s URI.escape function' do
+    it 'calls ruby\'s URI::DEFAULT_PARSER.escape function' do
       uri_string = AlsoString.new('uri_string')
-      expect(URI).to receive(:escape).with(uri_string).and_return('escaped_uri_string').once
+      expect(URI::DEFAULT_PARSER).to receive(:escape).with(uri_string).and_return('escaped_uri_string').once
       is_expected.to run.with_params(uri_string).and_return('escaped_uri_string')
     end
   end
 
   describe 'strings in arrays handling' do
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params([]).and_return([]) }
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params(['one}', 'two']).and_return(['one%7D', 'two']) }
     it { is_expected.to run.with_params(['one}', 1, true, {}, 'two']).and_return(['one%7D', 1, true, {}, 'two']) }
   end
 end