The takeaway delivery company Deliveroo have been in the news a lot recently, mostly being accused of hiring employees under the guise of “contractors.”
One of the arguments being used against Deliveroo is that in some cities they do pay drivers or couriers by the hour, typically getting a set rate and then £1 per delivery, which means in many people’s opinion this makes them employees and not contractors.
Not content to just sit back and be attacked in the press, Deliveroo have decided to hit back at their critics, by bringing in a new pay structure for their self employed drivers.
What they have come up with is a pay per delivery structure as an option for all workers. Last year Deliveroo actually tried to make this mandatory for everybody, but it now seems to be voluntary.
Will many workers take up this new pay structure from Deliveroo? Probably not. While some drivers appear to be okay with being classed as a contractor and self employed, there are many that want full employee rights. Thousands protested last year, and there is expected to be protests this year.
I just think that if these drivers took the job on the understanding that it was a self employed position, then what are they complaining about? If they want traditional based employment where they are classed as an employee then go to another company. It really is as simple as that, but of course, many don’t want to listen.
Interestingly, after a bit of testing Deliveroo have said that the Pay Per Delivery structure, on average, earns their drivers £12 an hour, while those on the hourly based structure only get around £9.50 an hour.
£2.50 extra per hour and a lot of drivers are not interested…it really does make you wonder if some of these workers are actually interested in “working” or if they just want to get a cushy job with an hourly rate where they do the bare minimum.
Drivers who use Pay Per Delivery also have the ability to see orders as they come through the system, and have the option to reject any deliveries they don’t want to make. Sounds like a good deal if you ask me.
Also, let’s not forget that contractor drivers who work for Deliveroo also get flexibility in when they work and for how many hours. This means some weeks they might only do 20 hours, while others it could be 70 hours. They can work around their schedule and lifestyle rather than the other way round.
I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of Deliveroo in the news or the employee versus self employed debate.
