INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Amazon is the latest tech giant to be targeted by a legal challenge in the UK related to gig economy working practices.
The UK GMB Union is
filing suiton behalf of couriers forthree delivery companies used by Amazon — accusing the suppliers of making bogus claims that the
delivery drivers were self employed, and thus denying them employment rights such as the national minimum wage and holiday pay.
The three
Amazon suppliers in question are: Prospect Commercials Limited, Box Group Limited and Lloyd Link Logistics Limited.
The GMB Union says one
of the drivers involved in the caserecounted his experience of leaving the house at 6am, not returning from work until 11pm — and still
having £1 per undelivered parcel deducted from his wages.
On more than one occasion the driver was also told he would not be paid if he did
not complete a route — and it said he had sometimes driven when &half asleep at the wheel& in order to ensure he got paid.
Two of the
three claimants in the lawsuit are also claiming whistleblower status, saying they were dismissed after they raised concerns about working
Among their claims are that —
the number of parcels allocated to drivers resulted in excessive hours and/or driving unsafely to meet
targets;
drivers were expected to wait a significant time to load their vans, extending their working hours;
drivers were driving whilst
tired, which posed a threat to their safety and other road users; and
drivers were being underpaid and not being paid amounts that they were
contractually entitled to
The GMB Union says these whistleblowing claims are also being brought directly against Amazon on the basis that it
was the company who determined the way the drivers should work.
In a statement, Tim Roache, GMB general secretary, told us:&Amazon is a
global company that makes billions
It absolutely galling that they refuse to afford the people who make that money for them even the most basic rights, pay and respect
The day to day reality for many of our members who deliver packages for Amazon, is unrealistic targets, slogging their guts out only to have
deductions made from their pay when those targets aren&t met and being told they&re self-employed without the freedom that
affords.
&Companies like Amazon and their delivery companies can&t have it both ways — they can&t decide they want all of the benefits of
having an employee, but refuse to give those employees the pay and rights they&re entitled to
Guaranteed hours, holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions are not privileges companies can dish out when they fancy
They are the legal right of all UK workers, and that what we&re asking the courts to rule on.&
Amazon UK declined to answer any specific
questions but a spokesperson sent us this statement:
Our delivery providers are contractually obligated to ensure drivers they engage
receivethe National Living Wage and are expected to pay a minimum of£12 per hour,follow all applicable laws and driving regulations and
drive safely.Allegations to the contrary do not represent the great work done by around 100 small businesses generating thousands of work
opportunities for delivery drivers across the UK.
Amazon is proud to offer a wide variety of work opportunities across Britain—full-time
or part-time employment, or be your own boss
Last year we created 5,000 new permanent jobs on top of thousands of opportunities for people to work independently with the choice and
flexibility of being their own boss—either through Amazon Logistics, Amazon Flex, or Amazon Marketplace.
The legal challenge is just the
latest in the UK related to gig economy employment classifications
The most high profile to date involves Uber — which in October 2016 lost an employment tribunal which had challenged the self-employed
status of a group of Uber drivers, with judges deeming them to be workers.
Uber has also since lost an appeal against the ruling but is
Yet at the same time the company has announcedpersonal injury and illness insurance products for drivers and riders in region — in what
looks very much like an effort to shrink its legal liabilities as gig economy conditions come under increased legal and political scrutiny
in Europe.
Complaints related to gig economy working conditions — and including delivery companies specifically — have been facing
parliamentary scrutiny in the UK for many months now.
In parallel, the UK government has been reviewing employment law, including to take
account of technology-driven changes to work and working patterns
And in Februaryit announced a package of labor market reforms intended to &build an economy that works for everyone& — with the government
making itself accountable for what it dubbed &good quality work& not just the quantity of jobs that are available.
The reforms were billed
as expanding workers rights — with the government claiming that &millions& of workers would get new day-one rights, as well as having
their rights bolstered by tougher enforcement for sick and holiday pay.
Although it also announced four consultations to help feed the
So their full and final shape isn&t clear yet
And court decisions flowing from gig economy legal challenges are likely to be influential in shaping the future employment law.
Amazon has
faced other concerns related to its working practices in the UK
Earlier this month the FTreported on a separate GMB Union investigation related to working practices inside Amazon UK warehouses — which
have been the focus of long-standing concerns over pay and working conditions.
The union filed Freedom of Information requests with
ambulance services near the warehouses and said it found that ambulances had been called to the centers 600 times in the last three years
According to its investigation there were 115 call-outs to just one Amazon center, in Rugeley, near Birmingham, which employs more than
Whereas it said it found just eight ambulance calls over the same period from a nearby Tesco warehouse —where 1,300 people work.
However
Amazon told the newspaper that most of the call-outs were associated with &personal health events&, rather than being work related, adding:
&It is simply not correct to suggest that we have unsafe working conditions based on this data or on unsubstantiated anecdotes.&
