The employment status of Deliveroo riders is set to be considered by the High Court with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) being given the green light for a full judicial review of a ruling by the government’s Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which had said riders could not be classified as “workers”.
The CAC had concluded because riders are able to either pass on a delivery service to a substitute or to abandon a job, they were not obliged to provide a “personal service”. Therefore, riders did not meet the test of being “workers”. The union said that the riders are “denied basic employment rights” including a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday pay and collective bargaining rights.
Furthermore, Frank Field MP has launched his latest inquiry into the pay and working conditions of people working in the “gig economy”. He will gather evidence from Deliveroo riders in an attempt to supplement the evidence base on the living standards of workers in the “gig economy”, as well as the need for any additional safeguards. FCSA will be monitoring developments and will keep you updated.
