Deliveroo riders take first step in legal challenge for employment rights
10 November 2017
Deliveroo riders claim that they are entitled to rights including the national minimum wage and holiday pay; law firm Leigh Day has confirmed that they have issued legal claims on behalf of 45 riders to the Employment Tribunal (ET).
The case was to be heard for the first time in the ET for a preliminary hearing on Thursday 2 November 2017, to be held in private where an Employment Judge was to set out the timetable for the case as it moves forward. This includes setting a date for a hearing to decide whether riders are employees or workers, or whether they are self-employed contractors as Deliveroo claims.
According to an employment rights expert at Leigh Day, the riders they are representing in this claim work shifts and are paid by the hour. Deliveroo has apparently claimed that they can log in and work whenever they want. The contentious issue is that these riders are controlled, managed and disciplined by Deliveroo and that they do not carry out their own delivery businesses.
Leigh Day also represents Uber drivers in their fight for workers’ rights and they expect many more Deliveroo riders to join the legal case as riders fight for employment rights from the popular food delivery company.