A London cycle courier has told an employment tribunal that when he turned down work at the end of a snowy eight-hour shift, he was punished by the firm for whom he was a contractor. Andrew Boxer is considered self-employed and is paid per delivery but is fighting to be classified as a “worker”.
Boxer is one of four London bike couriers taking their respective companies to court in a bid to get employed workers’ rights.
Speaking in April, he said his case was typical. “I work for one company for around 50 hours a week. They tell me what to do, when to do it and how to do it. I am monitored, have to have company ID with me at all times, and can't take work from other companies.”
Boxer is a contractor for Excel, a courier firm that is in liquidation and now operating as part of CitySprint. He is not entitled to the national minimum wage, holiday pay, sickness benefit or a pension.
The Guardian reports that Excel is not contesting the case.
Deliveroo given union ultimatum over pay after 'rider influx'
Boxer told the tribunal that he could not turn down work during a shift or take time off without prior arrangement. He said he could recall only one occasion when he had turned down a delivery, after working for around eight hours in rain and intermittent snow.
“I simply did not have the energy and physical resource to pick [offered work] up. It would have been dangerous to have carried on.”
Boxer said that as a result of this decision, he was told that he could expect not to be given time off to attend auditions for acting work when he needed it.
The case is being overseen by Joanna Wade. In January the same judge ruled that CitySprint had wrongly classed courier Mags Dewhurst as a self-employed freelancer and she won the right to paid holidays and minimum pay.
CitySprint has 3,500 self-employed couriers in the UK and is now expected to face further claims. The firm itself has claimed that the Dewhurst ruling is only relevant to that particular case.
I regularly see them on the commute alongside the Serpentine. It's quite odd because on a typical ride in the country if I see a horse it's dead...
That's not how it's commonly understood. Primary is usually used to describe centre of your lane. Secondary is somewhere to the left of there (but...
random use of the word responsibility -Responsibility refers to the duty of having authority or control over something or someone. If you are...
Then why do they all own cars, if the infrastructure to use them is not there? ...
I've been carrying the big heavy butyl for over five years...
I have a Shazam mini and love wizard works, but it's a bit chicken and egg - the Shazam does look quite a lot like the bags Carradice have been...
But then why would an otherwise law abiding driver need to react to a speed camera, real or imitation?...
I too wondered why Giant want to recruit 4 highly paid with bullshit-speak sales & marketing experience, not real hands-on R&D knowledge ...
100% agree, it's nothing to do with them, how public opinion is split.
Whilst EV cars are an improvement over ICE cars, I think they're a distraction from the possibilities of e-bikes, e-scooters and e-cargo-bikes etc....