Apps like JustEat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats are transforming the way we order takeaway. Just a few taps on your phone and you can have all sorts of cuisine winging its way to your front door. But what about the people who deliver your food? There has been lots of legal wrangling over whether people doing delivery jobs are employed, or self-employed. That situation is still fairly unclear. But the latest story is more about the legality of the people doing the deliveries. There is growing evidence of an illegal trade in jobs. Could this have implications for the whole sector?
Delivery Jobs and the Gig Economy
The sort of work offered by the delivery companies is known as the gig economy. Workers register with the company, download the app to their smartphones, then pick up “gigs” when they are free. Many of the people pick up jobs through several of the companies during the course of a week or month. Many are working while studying, or have another job with more regular hours. Despite controversy about low pay and irregular work, there’s no shortage of people willing to sign up to work delivering fast food orders. Whether their staff are defined as workers, employees or self-employed, the gig economy companies have to make sure that they’re in the UK legally, and allowed to work. And this is where the system has flaws, according to many working in the sector.
Proving Right to Work
Employers have a legal duty to make sure that the people they are employing have legal status in the UK. Employers can’t make any assumptions. Most will ask all people applying for jobs to bring their passport to interview. When it comes to self-employment, you have to register as self-employed with HRMC. You’ll need a national insurance number to register, and you can only get your NI number if you’re here legally. So in theory, only people who are in the UK legally can get a job, or be self-employed.
However, it doesn’t always work like that. There have been examples of people who are in the UK legitimately registering with the various apps, but allowing others to do the jobs for them. The law states that this sort of sub-contracting is usually allowed when you’re self-employed, but that you should check the status of the person you’re asking to work for you. In many cases, couriers aren’t aware of this requirement, or don’t care.
Your Legal Obligations
If you’re thinking about earning a bit of extra cash by signing up to deliver in your spare time, then there are a few things you’ll have to do. First, register as self-employed with HMRC. You have to do this even if you have additional paid employment. If you can’t work or want to allow a friend or family member to work in your place, then you should ensure they are working legally. It might seem overkill, but do you want to be the person HMRC picks on when it launches a test case on the gig economy and illegal workers?