Just Eat plans to make 1,700 couriers redundant from as the takeaway delivery firm reverts back to a gig economy model and scraps guaranteed minimum pay, sick pay and holiday pay. The couriers are currently engaged as âworkersâ will be replaced by self-employed individuals.
The decision has been described as âa risky moveâ and âhypocriticalâ, given Just Eatâs history of supporting gig economy workers, ensuring they receive statutory worker benefits.
Just Eat began offering worker contracts in 2020 and signed up more than 3,000 of its couriers in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Cambridge and Brighton. Those numbers have since fallen to 1,700 as riders have moved on. Just Eat has offered fewer couriers its new deal and riders have been given six weeksâ notice with pay.
Now the firm is backtracking, which is hypocritical, to say the least.  If Just Eat canât compete unless their couriers are all self-employed, the gig economy model needs a rethink.
Andy Prendergast, the national secretary of the GMB union, commented: âJust Eatâs decision to lay off 1,700 workers is a betrayal of those who have worked so hard for the company. At the exact moment when rivals like Deliveroo are offering improved benefits and sick pay, this is a backward step that underlines the need for minimum standards for delivery workers.â
Of course itâs cheaper and easier to engage everyone as self-employed, but thatâs not to say itâs compliant or fair on these individuals. And if it isnât genuine self-employment then itâs exploitation â simple as that.
There are risks to their plans – if a tribunal found that these couriers arenât self-employed, Just Eat will face the massive cost of backdating holiday pay and other statutory worker rights.
A business canât arbitrarily decide that someone is self-employed â it comes down to the facts of the situation and the specific characteristics of the engagement. Yet Just Eats does appear to be making the arbitrary decision despite previously concluding that self-employment was inappropriate.
