British food delivery company, Deliveroo has won the right to not give their couriers the minimum wage or holiday pay, dealing a blow to campaigners for workers’ rights in the gig economy.
The Central Arbitration Committee, a body that resolves worker disputes has said Deliveroo’s riders were self-employed contractors, as their contract states they have the right to allocate someone else to do the work for them.
Deliveroo have also removed a requirement for riders to wear its branded clothing and performance monitoring. This is because they are both central to differentiating between self-employed contractors and workers.
The case brought by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain wasn’t successful in trying to get the riders at Deliveroo workers’ rights. The case first related to the workers in the Camden and Kentish Town districts of north London, however, it is now relevant to the workers across the UK and for those who work for similar firms to Deliveroo.
The Managing Director for Deliveroo, Dan Warne, in the UK and Ireland has announced “This is a victory for all riders who have continuously told us that flexibility is what they value most about working with Deliveroo”. The riders have the freedom to choose where and when they work, as they are their own boss. He also stated that he hopes employment law will change so Deliveroo could offer injury pay and sick pay whilst letting workers enjoy flexibility. Warne hopes to work with government to update legislation and end the trade-off between security and flexibility.
The Matthew Taylor review was commissioned by the government to look into ‘gig economy’ employment practises which are used by both Deliveroo and Uber.
There are many different factors which help separate individuals who are workers and individuals who are self-employed. One factor is that if you are a worker, you’re required to work regularly and for a minimum number of hours each week, whereas if you’re self-employed you choose how often you work for and how long for.
Another difference is a worker has an employer in charge of their workload. The employer decides how much work to allocate to the worker and how the work should be done. This is different to someone who is self-employed and this is because they don’t have an employer. They work for themselves and decide how much work they should do and how the work should be completed.
An employee will receive holiday pay as well as employment benefits and protections such as: sick pay, maternity pay and paternity pay. Individuals who are self-employed do not receive these protections or benefits. This is because people who are self-employed can decide when they want to go on holiday for and how long. They have the freedom to choose whenever to go on holiday because they are their own boss.
If you need advice or have any questions on workers and individuals who are self-employed, please contact a member of the HPC team:
T: 0844 800 5932
E: help@highpeformanceconsultancy.com
Twitter: @HPC_HRservices