Have you ordered anything from Amazon lately? Most of us probably have.
Wikipedia says Amazon is the largest internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalisation, the fourth most valuable public company in the world, and the eighth largest employer in the US. Only Alibaba Group is bigger in terms of total sales.
But Amazon don’t even deliver the goods you order from them. Rather, your parcels are delivered by your local courier company.
One of these is UK Express Delivery (UKXD), and some of their drivers deliver solely for Amazon.
UKXD required drivers to hire a van from the company, controlled their delivery routes, and sanctioned them for poor performance. The drivers were required to be available for 15 days each month, and were banned from working for a competitor. If they were unable to work, money was deducted from their pay.
Despite this, UKXD treated their drivers as self-employed. So the GMB union made a claim that the drivers should have been treated as employees.
And they won.
To avoid further claims of false self-employment, UKXD offered 100% settlement to the drivers. According to the union, some received back pay of almost £20,000.
As employees, the drivers now receive protection under employment law including:
- Minimum wage
- Paid annual leave
- Sick pay
- Paid rest breaks
- Protection from unfair dismissal, whistle-blowing and discrimination
What this means for you
Citizens Advice did a study in 2015 which found that maybe 1/10 self-employed workers are actually employees. This could affect 460,000 people nationwide.
You are likely to be an employee if:
- Your employer is obliged to provide you with work, and you are required to do it
- Your employer controls what, when and how you work
- You have to do the work yourself without sub-contracting
- Your contract includes details such as frequency of pay, and benefits such as maternity pay or sick pay
If you suspect your self-employment contract is bogus, get in touch.
For more information, please see our page about self-employed workers and employment rights.
Need help?
For a FREE assessment of your claim, call 0808 168 7288 or fill in the contact form on the top right of this page.
We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.
You have a choice of ways to pay, including ‘no win, no fee’.