The continuing pay dispute concerning self-employment and contractors took another interesting turn last month. Delivery firm Hermes agreed a deal with the GMB Union to offer couriers paid holiday and guaranteed wage rates.
The Union described the deal as “ground-breaking”. It offers couriers who are allocated work on a self-employed basis the option to receive up to 28 days of paid leave. They can also choose pay rates of at least £8.50 per hour.
In return Hermes set certain requirements:
- Couriers have to follow routes specified by Hermes, currently they can choose. This is to ensure that the most efficient route is selected and therefore time minimised.
Hermes currently utilises 15,000 couriers. Those who are self-employed can choose to opt in or remain as they are.
This was the most recent case in the “gig-economy” debate. Previous cases include Uber and Pimlico Plumbers. In the Pimlico case, the Supreme Court deemed that their self-employed plumbers were workers because they went to jobs dressed and branded as Pimlico. Pimlico dictated the uniform, hours, pay and branding. They ruled that paid holiday and minimum wage should be provided by Pimlico.
The Uber case is very similar in the fact that the Court of Appeal upheld the decision that their drivers were workers because they appeared as Uber on the cars and the service was booked on the Uber app. Uber are now taking this to the Supreme Court, based on the fact that their drivers have the option not to take the ride, therefore they are in control of their hours and routes. Their hope to overturn the decision may be reinforced by the ruling around Deliveroo cyclists. Here the High Court ruled that Deliveroo riders have the option of asking other riders to take their deliveries therefore they cannot be classed as workers (as there is no requirement for “personal service”).
It feels as if there is still a lot of clarification needed from the courts in terms of what clearly represents a worker and what constitutes self-employment. If you are concerned about any arrangements you have with contractors or self-employed workers then please contact your HR Consultant. This is no doubt going to be an ongoing battle, with such high consequences for businesses, so watch this space for further updates.
