Deliveroo Contracts Deny Fair Access To Employment Tribunal

It was recently revealed that employment contracts given to self-employed workers of food delivery business Deliveroo have a clause that does not entitle them to the same full employment rights that most food delivery personnel benefit from.

The Guardian reports that workers for Deliveroo, who deliver food from a number of popular restaurants by bicycle, are paid a wage of around £7 per hour, below the £7.20 minimum wage, although an additional £1.00 is granted for each delivery they make.

There are seemingly few benefits for self-employed Deliveroo workers, who are also expected to pay their own national insurance.

The most controversial part of the Deliveroo contract is that the hundreds of people currently employed by the company around the UK are not allowed to take their employer to tribunal should they wish to do so. If workers choose to ignore this rule, they are contractually obliged to pay all costs that the Deliveroo business incur during the tribunal process.

The exact wording in the Deliveroo contract is reportedly as follows:
“You further warrant that neither you nor anyone acting on your behalf will present any claim in the employment tribunal or any civil court in which it is contended that you are either an employee or a worker.”

However, the legality of denying workers the chance to an employment tribunal unless they pay their employers’ fee is questionable, as some experienced employment law professionals believe this rhetoric is only being used to discourage workers from taking legal action.

In response to the condemnation that has followed the recent revelations, a Deliveroo spokesman has released the following statement:
“We provide a platform for people to work with us on a freelance basis. This allows riders to work flexibly around another commitment, like studying or other work. We’ve worked with legal experts to design our contracts to reflect that and we’re proud to be creating opportunities for over 5,000 riders across the UK.”

Since its creation in 2012, Deliveroo is believed to have generated around £158 million.

Deliveroo is just one of many companies currently being scrutinised by UK employment experts to determine whether self-employed workers are being discriminated against through lesser treatment compared to fully employed staff. Drivers employed by the taxi-hailing app Uber are currently locked in a court case against their employer in order to add greater working rights to their contract, such as a standard living wage, sick payments and a pension scheme.

The controversy in this kind of contract follows a recent investigation by The Guardian into the practices of the courier firm Hermes, which was revealed to be paying many of its workers below national minimum wage, despite the company’s claims to the contrary.

The Hermes investigation has recently become a political affair after Birkenhead MP Frank Field formally requested that Theresa May launch a review into the legislation surrounding self employment so that UK workers can easily understand what is legally considered self employment, which could end exploitative conduct.

Whether the situation involving Deliveroo and Uber will turn into a investigation like that of Hermes remains to be seen.