Precarious Gig Work Is Officially Bad For Your Health
People who rely on short-term, temporary, freelance work, or jobs where pay is dependent largely on tips, commissions and bonuses – often suffer poor health related to their financial insecurity, new research has shown. Workers with fluctuating and unpredictable pay tend to have poorer sleep, more stress and miserable physical symptoms that affect their work […]
Gig Workers Not Told They’re Covering Royal Mail Strikes
Royal Mail has attempted to use gig workers hired via the platform Ryde to provide cover for their striking staff – but according to one such worker they weren’t told anything about the industrial action. Bryn Atkinson said: “Today I could have done other work, but I’ve been hired through the Ryde app that says […]
Self-Employed DPD Courier Found Dead In His Van
A self-employed courier for DPD who was allegedly encouraged to work longer hours for Black Friday has died at one of its Kent warehouses. Warren Norton was discovered unresponsive by colleagues in his van at the Dartford depot at around 7am on 23 November. The 49-year-old single father is thought to be sleeping in his […]
Gig Workers Stressed Due To Constant Unfair Monitoring
As the cost of living crisis worsens, workers in the gig economy globally are grappling with another threat to their hard-earned wages – the double-edged sword of online reviews. Researchers at Bristol and Oxford Universities have found that gig platform algorithms lack transparency and are highly volatile, leaving workers vulnerable to malicious customers. Findings revealed […]
Uber Knowingly Engaged Drivers Incorrectly As Self-Employed
Uber whistleblower and their ex-lobbyist Mark MacGann confirms that Uber knowingly misclassified their drivers as self-employed and says “we sold people a lie”. He was speaking to the Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) of the European Parliament on 25 October, where he confirmed: “I lobbied governments around the world to get Uber what it […]
EU Platform Work Directive Under Threat
Last year plans for an EU Platform Work Directive were announced which would have presumed all gig workers to be employees rather than self-employed, but the legislation now looks set to be diluted. The Czech Presidency of the European Council has proposed a reform of the text of the Directive which would raise the threshold […]
International Standards Needed For Gig Economy
A global manifesto has been launched to campaign for fairer platform work and raise standards for workers in the gig economy. Timed to coincide with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) conference on Decent Work In The Platform Economy, the manifesto seeks to protect and ensure the rights of platform workers across the world. Alongside the […]
GMB Union Launches Collective Action On Paid Holiday
GMB Union has launched a collective grievance on behalf of its members against platform-based private hire firm Bolt. They are seeking to secure paid holiday for Bolt drivers who are engaged on a self-employed basis. There is already precedent for paid holiday in similar gig economy businesses, which according to GMB is an industry standard […]
Uber Documents Reveal Murky Political Lobbying
More than 124,000 documents revealing the inner workings of Uber have been leaked to The Guardian and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The leaked records cover 40 countries and span 2013 to 2017, the period in which Uber was aggressively expanding. Uber lobbied leaders around the world, seeking support to […]