Gig economy companies warned by UK government may be operating illegally | Gig economy

Gig economy companies providing “freelancing” workers to shops, restaurants and warehouses may be operating illegally, the government has warned in a series of warnings. observer The report highlights their use.

Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders last week wrote to Young Sun and Tempers, who supply thousands of self-employed workers to UK businesses, to tell them their business practices may be breaching employment laws. and personnel rules and regulations.

In a nearly identical letter to the Dutch-owned platform, Madders noted that “fake self-employment is completely unacceptable” and that he “does not hesitate to ask all relevant agencies to review employers or institutions whose behavior appears to be exploitative.” “.

Madders is concerned that freelancers on the platform are not afforded employment rights. He added that it was unacceptable for businesses to claim people were self-employed “when it does not represent the reality of the relationship”.

He asked the chief executives of Youngones and Pempe to confirm the steps their companies were taking to comply with UK employment status and employment agency laws.

The letter is at observer Revealed gig shop staff who refused to collect wages from Youngones were waiting to be paid over Christmas.

The TUC is increasingly used by the retail industry for retail workers who lack basic employment rights.

The new payment system has led to further complaints against Young's. Workers who refuse to pay to be paid quickly must wait for customers to pay their bills, which can cause hardship for gig workers who cannot rely on regular pay packets to pay their bills.

One worker, who asked not to be named, said he was still waiting for a bar shift that finished a month ago.

He said: “The company was difficult to deal with and sent me tone-deaf replies, essentially saying they weren't getting paid either so it wasn't bad. The difference is I was the one trying to supplement my salary and get paid by People who do gigs to supplement my salary and make ends meet, they are a huge company that makes a profit off of it.”

Youngones posted a message to workers after the complaint, stating: “Since you selected the 'wait for customer to pay' option, there is always a small risk if the customer does not pay the invoice”.

Madders has asked the Employment Standards Inspectorate to investigate Youngones and Temper.

The letter states “we consider your business to be an employment agency”, adding: “If legislation and regulations apply to you, it is unlikely that some of the business practices you note are consistent with the law”.

Agency staff are entitled to a range of employment rights, including holiday pay and 20-minute breaks if they work more than six hours. But workers who are considered self-employed do not have these protections.

last week, observer Find Youngones working multiple six-hour shifts without a break in shops, kitchens, restaurant offices and warehouses.

A London restaurant is looking for a kitchen porter to work nine hours for £12 an hour, with Youngones app saying “you won't get a break”.

A Glasgow warehouse is looking to recruit five warehouse partners for 8.5 hour shifts at £12 an hour, while a London store is offering retail assistants on £12.50 an hour to work 11 hours without taking breaks on the app.

Madders' letter also referenced a now-deleted temper tantrum exposed to hotel clients, claiming freelancers were not covered by fair tipping laws, which were first introduced in observer.

“The workers you provide through the platform are likely to be agency workers and therefore covered by Jobs (TIPS Allocation) 2023,” he wrote.

There have been concerns that companies could use gig workers to avoid many of the new rights in the Employment Rights Act.

Keir Starmer faced calls this month for the Prime Minister to introduce a single legal position to stop more abusive employment laws.

Labour's former shadow employment rights secretary Andy McDonald told Starmer that unsafe jobs stripped workers of their rights: “Having a worker status will help end this abuse behavior,” he said.

Jansen said this was in response to Madders' letter. It said employment rights laws and employment agency regulations did not apply to the company. “While neither framework applies to Youngones, we remain aware of, respect and understand these laws and regulations,” Youngones Chief Operating Officer James Medd said.

Medd said the platform doesn't offer or assign shifts, rather businesses post gigs and freelancers choose the classes that work for them.

“They have full transparency in terms of hours, can negotiate their salary and decide whether to accept it – it's entirely their choice,” Medd said.

The company says it offers freelancers a clear range of payment options they can choose based on their needs. “When applying for a gig, freelancers can look at the business's average payout speed to make sure they fully understand the expected timeline,” Medd added.

Dede said it welcomed the opportunity to interact constructively with the Ministry of Commerce and Trade. “Temperature is confident in the legality of our model, which has been rigorously assessed both in the Netherlands and the UK.

A spokesman said: “We are deeply committed to ethical practice, transparency and a positive contribution to a sustainable labor market.”