Couriers working for delivery firm, Hermes, have been ruled to be workers, not self-employed, by an Employment Tribunal.
The employment tribunal in Leeds found that the group of couriers, who brought the legal challenge in order to be classed as employees of the firm and not independent contractors, were entitled to the employment rights that a worker would have, such as the minimum wage and holiday pay. The tribunal also ruled that deductions from their pay packets had been unlawful and could be reclaimed.
The ruling was hailed as a “significant victory” in the ongoing battle against “exploitation” of those working in the so-called ‘gig economy’.
It is the latest in a series of legal challenges where tribunals have ruled that gig economy staff were wrongly classified as ‘self-employed’ and should be reclassified as ‘workers’. These have all hit the headlines in the past couple of years and have involved companies such as Uber, Excel, Pimlico Plumbers and Addison Lee.
The latest ruling is likely to affect up to 14,500 couriers working for Hermes, who are presently on the same terms as the 65 who brought the claim.
The general secretary of the GMB, the union that assisted the couriers in bringing the claim, said of the ruling: “Not only will this judgement directly affect more than 14,000 Hermes couriers across the country, it’s another nail in the coffin of the exploitative bogus self-employment model which is increasingly rife across the UK.
“Bosses can’t just pick and choose which laws to obey. Workers’ rights were hard won, GMB isn’t about to sit back and let them be eroded or removed by the latest loophole employers have come up with to make a few extra quid.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Hermes released the following response: “We will carefully review the tribunal’s decision, but we are likely to appeal it given that it goes against previous decisions, our understanding of the witness evidence and what we believe the law to be.
“Nevertheless we have always been fully prepared for any outcome of this decision and its impact on the 15 couriers and the former couriers who brought the case.”