Food delivery company, Deliveroo, has settled the employment rights claims of 50 of its riders. In yet another twist to the ‘gig economy’ saga.
The riders, represented by law firm Leigh Day, were categorised by the company as self-employed suppliers. However, the riders argued that this was unlawful and they were entitled to employment rights such as the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and paid holiday.
Annie Powell, a solicitor in Leigh Day’s employment department who represented the riders, said: “Deliveroo has paid out a material sum to settle these claims. In our view, this shows that Deliveroo knew that they were very likely to lose at the employment tribunal.”
She claimed that some of the riders had earned hundreds or even thousands of pounds below the NMW during the time that they worked for Deliveroo. And although the settlement will make a difference to the 50 riders who brought the claim, there are still thousands of Deliveroo rides who are not receiving employment rights.
“We are calling on Deliveroo to change their practices now, to ensure that riders are paid at least the minimum wage and receive holiday pay,” said Powell. “We also believe that Deliveroo should implement a compensation scheme for all riders who worked under the contract in question in this case, and all previous contracts. This scheme should compensate riders for Deliveroo’s failure to pay the NMW as well as paid holiday.”
She warned that failure to change could leave the company open to further claims from current and former riders.
This case is another example of the string of employment-status cases currently going through the courts. Last week couriers from Hermes won an employment tribunal case where they were found to be workers rather than independent contractors.
