[UK] 7,000 Just Eat couriers join employment tribunal to improve workers’ rights

In the UK, more than 7,000 Just Eat couriers have launched a legal action against the food delivery company to gain employment rights, including minimum wage and holiday pay, The Guardian reports.

The employment tribunal began on May 5 and is set to run until June 2.

The tribunal will reportedly determine whether the couriers are classed as workers, a status that comes with improved rights, or self-employed independent contractors. Judgment is expected later this year.

In 2023, Just Eat dismissed around 1,700 couriers when it returned to a gig economy model and, according to The Guardian, the gig platform scrapped an experiment offering guaranteed minimum pay, sick pay and holiday pay in six cities in the UK and Europe.

The “Scoober” experiment saw couriers - who Just Eat said handled less than 5 per cent of UK orders at the time and also worked set shifts - provided with e-bikes or e-mopeds and had the option to operate from a central hub, where they could pick up equipment and take breaks.

A Just Eat spokesperson said, “In the UK, Just Eat partners with over 70,000 self-employed couriers who choose to work with us for the flexibility and freedom that we offer. When and how often couriers deliver from our restaurant, retail and grocery partners is up to them, and is reflective of their status as self-employed contractors.”

The new legal challenge is reportedly being led by Leigh Day, the law firm that helmed a successful employment tribunal action by Addison Lee drivers for rights, including holiday pay and the national minimum wage, in 2025.

It came in the wake of a 2024 ruling in favour of Bolt drivers and a 2021 Supreme Court decision backing improved rights for drivers working with the taxi app Uber.

In April, the government’s Fair Work Agency (FWA) launched to improve oversight of employment rights.

A report for the FWA reportedly identified the gig economy - together with construction and social care - as a high-risk area in which workers “often experience precarious conditions, systemic barriers to redress”.

HMRC currently has the power to enforce the national minimum wage and will continue to do so until the FWA takes this over in 2027.

Nigel Mackay - Leigh Day’s joint head of employment and discrimination - said, “Whilst we might hope that the new agency will be more willing to challenge gig economy operators, it may be that, as is often the case now, individuals will first need to bring a tribunal claim to show that they are a worker and therefore entitled to the national minimum wage, before enforcement takes place.”

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the UK, more than 7,000 Just Eat couriers have launched a legal action against the food delivery company to gain employment rights, including minimum wage and holiday pay, The Guardian reports.

The employment tribunal began on May 5 and is set to run until June 2.

The tribunal will reportedly determine whether the couriers are classed as workers, a status that comes with improved rights, or self-employed independent contractors. Judgment is expected later this year.

In 2023, Just Eat dismissed around 1,700 couriers when it returned to a gig economy model and, according to The Guardian, the gig platform scrapped an experiment offering guaranteed minimum pay, sick pay and holiday pay in six cities in the UK and Europe.

The “Scoober” experiment saw couriers - who Just Eat said handled less than 5 per cent of UK orders at the time and also worked set shifts - provided with e-bikes or e-mopeds and had the option to operate from a central hub, where they could pick up equipment and take breaks.

A Just Eat spokesperson said, “In the UK, Just Eat partners with over 70,000 self-employed couriers who choose to work with us for the flexibility and freedom that we offer. When and how often couriers deliver from our restaurant, retail and grocery partners is up to them, and is reflective of their status as self-employed contractors.”

The new legal challenge is reportedly being led by Leigh Day, the law firm that helmed a successful employment tribunal action by Addison Lee drivers for rights, including holiday pay and the national minimum wage, in 2025.

It came in the wake of a 2024 ruling in favour of Bolt drivers and a 2021 Supreme Court decision backing improved rights for drivers working with the taxi app Uber.

In April, the government’s Fair Work Agency (FWA) launched to improve oversight of employment rights.

A report for the FWA reportedly identified the gig economy - together with construction and social care - as a high-risk area in which workers “often experience precarious conditions, systemic barriers to redress”.

HMRC currently has the power to enforce the national minimum wage and will continue to do so until the FWA takes this over in 2027.

Nigel Mackay - Leigh Day’s joint head of employment and discrimination - said, “Whilst we might hope that the new agency will be more willing to challenge gig economy operators, it may be that, as is often the case now, individuals will first need to bring a tribunal claim to show that they are a worker and therefore entitled to the national minimum wage, before enforcement takes place.”

Source: The Guardian

(Quotes via original reporting)