What is the gig economy?
Gig economy workers tend to be on zero-hour contracts or short-term, freelance contracts rather than permanent jobs with a set number of hours. They are otherwise known as independent contractors.
The name comes from them earning money for each task, or “gig” they complete – like a delivery or a car journey – rather than hourly or daily for the time they have worked. Many people in the gig economy work for more than one company at the same time.
That means they often technically set their own hours, but it can also result in them receiving no hours or shifts.
Which companies use workers in the gig economy?
Deliveroo, Uber and Pimlico Plumbers are well known for using workers in the gig economy to carry out their business.
People working for Addison Lee taxis, Amazon, DPD and Ocado are in the gig economy too.
But many of these companies have faced strike action and legal challenges from workers who want more protection.
Are gig economy workers employees?
There has been much debate and even legal action around the employment status of workers in the gig economy.
Many workers say they should count as employees, meaning they would be entitled to things like sick pay, the national living wage, redundancy pay and paid holidays, while employers tend to say they should not.
In February, Uber was overruled in a Supreme Court battle over the protection of its drivers and told it must classify people as “workers” rather than self-employed contractors.
That meant the drivers became entitled to rights such as the national living wage and sick pay.
The Big Issue JobsLooking for work?
There are 1 million new opportunities available at Big Issue Jobs.
The six justices said Uber would have to consider its drivers to be workers between the time they log on to the app and log off. Previously, drivers were only considered to be working when driving a passenger.
A similar ruling was made against Pimlico Plumbers in 2018 when justices said a tradesman was entitled to basic employee protections.
In contrast to the Uber case, Deliveroo drivers were classified as self-employed by the UK Court of Appeal in June, confirming that the case did not set a precedent for the future of the gig economy.
How much are these workers paid?
A quarter of people working in the gig economy were earning less than minimum wage (since rebranded as the national living wage) in 2018, according to NatCen Social Research analysis.
The same year, a government report showed nearly 90 per cent of gig economy workers were paid less than £10,000 per year.
That hardship is likely to have continued into the Covid-19 crisis, with Citizens Advice warning gig economy workers were facing higher levels of pandemic poverty compared to the rest of the working population. Some were found to be earning as little as £2 an hour.
What do the workers think?
While many who work in the gig economy enjoy the flexibility it provides to allow them to balance other commitments such as childcare, this seems to come with a hefty price tag.
Many people in the gig economy have taken strike action against the companies for low pay, lack of sick or holiday pay, fire and rehire tactics, or safety issues.
Around 80 Ocado Zoom workers have been fighting to save their jobs after the company ended its contract with gig economy delivery firms Ryde and Stuart, putting the drivers out of work.
Ocado initially said it would rehire workers who had lost their job, but union Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) has said the new roles are on considerably reduced pay, lack flexibility, and so far only 10 workers have been employed.
The drivers said they were previously earning around £15 an hour and are now being offered pay of £10.85, which is the London Living Wage.
“It’s like a really botched version of fire and rehire, because they’ve just fired them. They’ve either rejected them or not finished the hiring process,” said the president of union IWGB, Alex Marshall, who has been supporting members in the dispute. Deliveroo riders took to the streets across the UK in April to demonstrate against low pay and poor conditions.
They were making the case to the delivery company that they should be recognised as employees and given basic rights such as sick pay.
Camden rider Rich Mason, 32, told The Big Issue it was a “really important time” for people facing hardship.
“The money, the insecurity and the lack of sick pay and protections have been around for years,” he told The Big Issue.
“All the riders out there realise we are never going to get more attention than we have got right now. All eyes are on us and the message is the same as it has been for years: we need proper pay.”
As well as improving pay, riders went on strike to demand greater safety measures to report harassment or abuse received on the job, a transparent termination process, and to be classed as dependent contractors.
Deliveroo responded to the strike organised by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain by stating that the action only amounted to a small proportion of its 50,000 UK riders, and that the majority valued the “total flexibility” of their work and the ability to “earn over £13 an hour”.
