Meet the teens taking on Deliveroo

Food delivery app Deliveroo seemed like the ideal match for Leeds-based Ozzy Miller when he was a 16 year-old looking for work.

When Ozzy, now 18, told his parents that he could be paid for “cycling your bike and delivering a bit of food,” they reacted with disbelief, saying “it couldn’t be real”.

But these jobs are very real, and exist as part of the ‘ gig economy’, the buzzy term assigned to a market characterised by short-term contracts and flexible, freelance work.

With 15,000 food couriers and riders in the UK alone, Deliveroo is a fast-growing operation here. Now Ozzy is one of 20 couriers planning legal action, external to fight for what they deem to be basic workers’ rights - a campaign that features in a new BBC Three documentary, The Teens Taking On Deliveroo.

Guy McClenahan (left) and Ozzy Miller

As it stands, Deliveroo classifies its riders as 'independent contractors'. This means they are not entitled to benefits like holiday pay and the minimum wage, external, which ranges from £7.50 for over-25s to £4.05 for under-18s.

The legal case that Ozzy is part of is geared towards forcing a change in the company’s classification so that riders will become ‘employees’, and get these basic rights and entitlements, including compensation for missed holiday pay.

The company says: “Riders are attracted to the well-paid flexible work Deliveroo offers. Riders earn on average over £9.50 per hour, and are able to choose to work where and when they want, and for whom they want. This is the flexibility that comes with self-employment.”

In the documentary, Ozzy talks about the personal financial investment he made in the job before he even started. “I bought my bike, which was £120, as well as the rack (£40) and phone lamp (£40) we need,” Ozzy explains.

“My bike helmet was £70, lights £20, gloves £10. I had to buy a nice phone, which I didn’t want to do, but I had to. It wasn’t cheap - it was about £650 for my phone. Before even starting the job, I’d spent over £1,000.”

Ozzy has some form when it comes to taking on Deliveroo. In March, his rider account was terminated. “I was sacked for not working enough hours,” he says, “which isn’t correct because I’m a self-employed worker. They also claimed I had unauthorised absences, however I had all the absence requests approved.

“In the end, I wrote to the headquarters in London, I showed them my documents, and showed that in their contract terms, I was allowed to be off work.”

Ozzy joined up with other Deliveroo riders in Leeds who had been sacked for similar reasons, and staged a protest, external to get their jobs back. They were successful, and Ozzy is back working for the company.

Deliveroo says it took immediate action when the problems experienced by riders in Leeds came to light, that it takes steps to listen to and act on riders' concerns, and that its official policy is that riders should be able to work flexibly whenever they want.

At the same time as Ozzy’s case, pressure is being applied to Deliveroo by the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union to change how the company classifies riders. In August, the body won an employment status case, external against taxi and courier company Addison Lee. It is also representing two Uber drivers, external who are fighting the taxi app’s appeal against their battle to change their employment status to that of self-employed workers.

Central to that union battle is courier Guy McClenahan, external, 19, who is based in Brighton. In the documentary, he discusses Deliveroo’s pay structure and how it allows riders to be paid per delivery rather than per hour. The company has argued that fee-per-delivery riders could earn £12 an hour, external that way - which is well above the minimum wage.

But Guy, who organised a workers’ rights protest in Brighton (pictured below), tells a different story. “I only get paid when I make a delivery, so I could be clocked on, ready and waiting on the side of the road for an order, but won’t get paid,” he says.

He gives an example of a payslip from this March, showing that he worked from 3.30pm to 10pm.“That worked out at just over £4 an hour because it was a quiet night,” he explains. “When we’re riding for Deliveroo, and in some zones we’re working the shifts they suggest, wearing the uniform, representing them to the customers, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be paid the minimum wage.”

Safety is another factor in the couriers’ arguments against gig economy giants. Because of their contract status, riders are responsible for their own insurance to cover injuries or accidents. This year, riders­ have revealed how they have been robbed, had their bikes stolen, and in two terrifying cases, suffered an acid attack while out on a delivery.

The company has consistently countered complaints about its worker classification by saying that the majority of its riders prefer the ‘self-employed’ status.

“If riders were reclassified as ‘employees’, they would be required to work in compulsory shifts arranged with us in advance and work exclusively with us during those shifts,” Deliveroo states. “This would limit the very flexibility riders want. Deliveroo has called on the government to update employment legislation so that we can end the trade-off between flexibility and security.”

Some of the film’s contributors are happy with the working arrangement as it stands. One university student in Leeds says: “I’ve never been as fit in my life. I like the interaction with customers and restaurant staff. Also when it’s busy, you can make some really good money.”

Another courier says: “You can choose your own hours. I did it for the freedom and the flexibility, and for the experience of being outside and meeting people.

“It’s challenging - especially when the weather is bad - but it’s all part of the experience. It’s kind of like a video game.”

Last Tuesday, the company’s UK managing director, Dan Warne, told parliament’s business committee, external that the cost of providing workers with basic rights such as the minimum wage could mean a £1 increase on meal deliveries (its standard delivery charge is £2.50).

Elsewhere, the Central Arbitration Committee - the independent body responsible for resolving workplace disputes - is expected to report back on whether riders qualify as ‘employees’ before the end of 2017.

The government also commissioned a review, external into gig economy practices, chaired by Matthew Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of the Arts. Its recommendations, delivered in July, include a new worker status category, external called 'dependent contractor', which, Taylor argues, might provide more of a balance between workers’ rights and gig-economy flexibility.

Ozzy’s case, meanwhile, has been submitted to an employment tribunal and is likely to go to court next year. Some 50 other riders are now taking similar legal action.

For Ozzy, the whole argument boils down to this: “If they’re treating us like workers, then in my opinion, we should get the benefits of workers.”

The Teens Taking On Deliveroo is available on BBC Three's YouTube channel. Watch it below.