It’s been a particularly crazy couple of weeks; Uber, Delivery firm Hermes, Deliveroo and Amazon. Whilst this ever growing list will no doubt expand further, partnering with a reputable and credible payroll provider will help mitigate this risk.
Highlighted below is an overview of recent cases;
The Uber tribunal concluded that Uber drivers should be classified as “workers” rather than self-employed, meaning they will be entitled to certain statutory rights such as minimum wage. Commenting on the case, FCSA Chief Executive Julia Kermode said:
“As this case has shown, employment status is complex and it is very important that all employers learn from this case and consider how they engage their workforce. Uber paves the way for many more tribunals as there are several firms that operate to a similar model with a substantial number of their workforce being self-employed.
“It is the working practices that are the most important determining factors of genuine self-employment, more so than the engagement contract and the Uber case should deter unscrupulous bosses from exploiting their workforce and denying them the benefits rightly due to them if they are actually workers. It is very timely that the Prime Minister has recently appointed Matthew Taylor to review non-standard employment practices but it must be remembered that in the majority of cases the problem is not in how someone is engaged, but how they are treated by business hiring them”.
“Today’s verdict is good news for Uber drivers who ought to receive a minimum wage and other statutory rights according to their worker status. However, it won’t be immediate and depends on the appeals process that Uber will no doubt now be pursuing.”
We’ve seen in the case of delivery firm Hermes where in July a Labour MP accused the courier company Hermes UK of “hounding” its employees, including the parents of a dying child. Frank Field wrote to the prime minister calling for an investigation into the firm’s working practices – a Guardian investigation found some of its workers were effectively paid less than the minimum wage. In September, it was announced that delivery firm Hermes would be facing a possible investigation after a report alleged some of its drivers receive below the minimum wage.
Business minister Margot James requested HMRC look into arrangements used by the firm. She was responding to a report by MP Frank Field into complaints from 78 current and former Hermes couriers. Mr Field’s report, which was sent to Prime Minister Theresa May, said Hermes’s practice of employing its drivers as self-employed workers sees many of them “paid an hourly rate that is much lower than the National Living Wage”.
Several couriers said their monthly earnings, after petrol costs, were less than £6.80 an hour, 40p an hour below the National Living Wage. The report also claimed there was “serious bullying from some of the middle-men and women who manage the operation for Hermes and who seem to be enforcing an employee contract under the cover of self-employment”.
Following the case with Uber, a group of food takeaway couriers working for Deliveroo are taking legal steps in the UK to gain union recognition and workers’ rights.It comes after two drivers for Uber won a tribunal case in which they argued they were workers not contractors. If the couriers win, it could encourage thousands of those working in the so-called gig economy to seek to unionise and receive rights such as paid leave.
The company, which provides a delivery service on behalf of thousands of restaurants across the country, classes its riders as self-employed “independent contractors”. This means they have no workers’ rights such as paid holiday and the right to the minimum wage.
Then followed Amazon delivery drivers, who, only last week the BBC reported regularly work “illegal” hours and receive less than the minimum wage, it has been claimed. Drivers for agencies contracted by the internet giant told an undercover reporter they were expected to deliver up to 200 parcels a day. Some admitted breaking speed limits to stay on schedule, while others said time was not allowed for toilet breaks. Whilst Amazon said it was committed to ensuring drivers drive safely and legally, and are “fairly compensated”. The retailer could face questions in parliament over the working conditions at the company.
To understand how your agency could benefit from engaging with THE outsourced payroll provider of choice for compliance and customer services, call one of ePayMe’s experts today on 01252 863700.
Sources; bbc.co.uk, FCSA.org.uk
Regards
Derren Powell
Business Manager
ePayMe