Cycle Couriers are fighting for basic working rights, by taking eCourier (and others) to Court!

Imagine working every day with no paid holidays, sick pay, or even the National Minimum Wage - that's our daily existence as couriers! For decades, couriers have been deprived by their companies of basic employment rights - and now we're fighting to get them back!

We are couriers unionised in the IWGB Union and we're challenging our employment status as self-employed "Independent Contractors". Under UK Law, Independent Contractors have no employment rights whatsoever; no paid holidays, no sick pay etc. We aren't even entitled to the National Minimum Wage!

Banner photo and above, by Selim Korycki

To fix this,we are challenging our employment status at London's leading courier companies (eCourier, CitySprint, AddisonLee and Excel) . For years, it's been the industry standard to employ couriers at arm's length via IC contracts, paying them per delivery, and depriving them of basic employment rights, while affording them zero job security. This arrangement has led to couriers being worked to exhaustion, as they get caught up in cycles of injury and debt.

However, we are now fighting for our status to be officially changed from "Independent Contractor" to that of "Self-Employed Worker" or "Employee". The outcome of the case will transform the welfare and rights of those working in the courier industry - and will define once and for all, whether couriers really are "Independent Contractors". If the ruling shows that we are in fact workers or employees, then it will expose the willful opportunism of the UK's courier industry, led by companies like eCourier, to systematically exploit their workforce. 

The rights we could win as a "Worker":

• At least the National Minimum Wage (currently many couriers earn below)
• Paid holidays (up to 5.6 weeks/year)
• Protection from unlawful discrimination
• Protection for whistle-blowers
• Fair treatment for part-time workers
• A 48-hour working week cap, unless individuals voluntarily opt-out

The rights we could win as an "Employee":

• All of the above, plus
• Statutory sick pay
• Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parenting leave
• Tax & NI contributions paid for by our employer
• Protection against unfair dismissal
• Statutory redundancy pay
• Time off in emergencies 
• Right to request flexible working
• Minimum notice periods for dismissal
• Right to workplace pensions

Couriers are fighting for respect!

Courier companies say that their couriers are contracted for "services" not "work or labour", so this means we aren't entitled to normal working benefits such as cover when we're sick or injured. Besides the financial struggles this creates, it is fundamentally about the personal relationship between couriers and the companies they work for. Our companies act as though they are legally allowed to treat us badly, with a lack of respect - and that's what we want, and need to change. We want to be treated like normal workers, have the same rights as normal workers and to live in London nowadays, we need just a fraction more security. 

"What Couriers Want..." Photo by IWGB Couriers Branch

We are hoping to raise £1,000 to cover our initial legal expenses - primarily the implicit costs to the union for taking on the cases. A further £5,000 would help us cover the rest of our initial legal expenses, and the costs of appeals, should we need to do so.

Watch our video below to understand more about what it's like to be a courier:

Video by Helena Doyle

Photo by IWGB Couriers Branch

About the claimant

We are four cycle couriers working in London - Demille (at eCourier), Mags (at CitySprint), Chris (at AddisonLee) and Andrew (at Excel). Between us, we have more than 20 years' experience as couriers, dodging dangerous London traffic to meet client deadlines. None of us have ever had holiday pay, sick pay, job security or basic employment rights, despite the risks involved in our jobs. Chris, who works for AddisonLee says: "I'm a bicycle messenger, I deliver packages and parcels around central London. I'm fighting for the same basic rights as a normal worker which I consider I have been for the last 7 years and 7 months. I'm generally treated well but by not paying me any holiday or sick pay they are avoiding their responsibility as an employer. I hope it will mean everyone can get at least holiday pay."

Fast facts

If we win, delivery drivers who are treated as “Independent Contractors”, could finally get paid holiday and an array of basic employment rights. The claims were made on the 22nd March 2016, so we are awaiting an official response from eCourier etc., and then the Employment Tribunal will schedule our preliminary hearings. The couriers have an excellent legal team as they are being represented by two barristers from Cloisters Chambers: Sarah Fraser Butlin- who also teaches trade union law at Cambridge University- and Jason Galbraith-Marten QC. There will be four separate tribunal cases to follow, and they will be: Flanore vs. eCourier, Dewhurst vs. CitySprint, Boxer vs. Excel, and Gascoigne vs. AddisonLee. We will attempt to join the cases at the earliest stage possible.