Case study.
Critically evaluate the approach taken by Deliveroo and the riders in the below case with specific reference to employment status / precarious employment, and include specific evaluations of employee voice, collective representation and recognition.
- Your answer should additionally situate the case study within international trends, stakeholders and sources of employment relations legislation and dispute resolution.
DELIVEROO
Deliveroo riders suffer setback in court battle for right to unionise (Guardian 24 June 2021)Court of appeal endorses previous verdicts that they should be deemed self employed.A judge said that while Deliveroo riders had the right to organise, they did nothave the right to do so via a trade union.
Attempts by some Deliveroo riders to secure legal status as employees have suffered a setback after the court of appeal upheld previous verdicts that found the food delivery couriers were self-employed.The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has been fighting through the courts since 2017 to have Deliveroo riders classified as “workers”, with the right to unionise and bargain collectively for better terms and conditions.
The court of appeal endorsed previous verdicts determining that Deliveroo riders should be deemed self-employed, without the right to organise via a trade union.
Deliveroo’s shares jumped by more than 9%, adding nearly £400m to its stock market value, as investors responded to the verdict, which will allow the company to avoid giving riders benefits they would be entitled to as employees.
IWGB said it was considering its options, which could include seeking leave to appeal to the supreme court.The ruling hinged on riders’ right to arrange a substitute to perform their duties if they did not want to or were unable to.
Lord Justice Underhill, one of the three judges who heard the appeal, conceded that the verdict might be seen as “counterintuitive”, in that gig economy workers may have particular need of unionising for better pay and conditions.
But he said that while they had the right to organise, they did not have the right to do so via a trade union.He said this was because they do not fall under the definition of employees under article 11 of the European convention on human rights, which governs rules on freedom of assembly, including unionisation.
A supreme court ruling in February, which found Uber drivers should have workers’ rights, had no bearing on Deliveroo riders’ application, the judge said, because that case did not hinge on the interpretation of article 11.
The three judges in the Deliveroo case, who dismissed the IWGB’s appeal unanimously, refused the union the right to appeal to the supreme court.
Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB pointed to an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that found some riders claim to make as little as £2 an hour working for Deliveroo.He said “Is this the kind of pay workers would accept if they were really their own boss?
“Deliveroo couriers have been working on the front line of the pandemic and whilst being applauded by the public and even declared heroes by their employer, they have been working under increasingly unfair and unsafe working conditions.“The reward they have received for their herculean effort? Deliveroo continuing to invest thousands of pounds in litigation to silence workers’ voices and deny them the opportunity to negotiate better terms and conditions.”
Deliveroo’s stock market float earlier this year was widely seen as a flop, partly due to investor concerns over riders’ employment status. Its shares rose by more than 9% on Thursday to nearly £2.75 – still well below the £3.90 float price – as the company welcomed the judgment.“UK courts have now tested and upheld the self-employed status of Deliveroo riders four times,” said a spokesperson.“Our message to riders is clear. We will continue to back your right to work the way you want and we will continue to listen to you and respond to the things that matter to you most.
“Deliveroo’s model offers the genuine flexibility that is only compatible with self-employment, providing riders with the work they tell us they value. Those campaigning to remove riders’ flexibility do not speak for the vast majority of riders and seek to impose a way of working that riders do not want. Deliveroo will continue to campaign for companies like ours to be able to offer the full flexibility of self-employment along with greater benefits and more security.