Walthamstow ex-courier says apps are 'taking the p***'

Andreas Larsson, 49, had to quit his job after one firm asked him to work while shielding but says he has been well-treated compared to many other couriers.

MPs from several parties - including Havering MP Jon Cruddas - have signed a motion to stop apps sacking workers by blocking their accounts after a campaign by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain.

In his four years as a courier, Andreas said the ability of app-based companies to punish their workers without giving a reason or a way to appeal “affected everyone”.

'It’s always on the terms of the company'

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service today, he said: “It’s obvious that these companies are taking the p*** and running away from any type of decent responsibility.

“It’s not just that you are lowly paid, you do not know if you are going to be paid, you don’t even know if you will have work. It’s always on the terms of the company.

“We are supposed to be self-employed but if we don’t do what they want us to do they get angry with us. How can I be self-employed if the company is my judge?”

He said that, while he had never been blocked from an app himself, he knew of other people who had been blocked “for customer service or because they were too slow”.

He said: “Some of these people were maybe doing a bad job sometimes but they were working 18 hours a day and some of them were really desperate.

“A lot of these people’s finances would be affected after a week. By three weeks they would need to move house or even become homeless.

“Most of them just focused on another platform because it would take too long to get unblocked. One guy was talking back and forth, trying to get unblocked, for around four to six weeks.”

Read more: Jobs is Waltham Forest Council's 'top priority' as economy hit by Covid

Andreas added that the gig economy was a “big problem that this society has not come to terms with” and which he expected to see expand to other industries soon.

He said: “When the gig economy gets big enough, you will have so many people that live hand to mouth.

“People have started to understand because they are worried about losing their job (due to Covid) but there are so many people who have been living like this for years.”

Explaining why he backed the motion, Havering MP Jon Cruddas said: “Uber and Deliveroo drivers have had to fight for basic employment rights since day one.

“Uber was launched in 2012 yet it took until 2018 for drivers to be recognised as workers rather than independent contractors.

“The trade unions, particularly the GMB, have put a lot of work in to get the industry to where it is now but more needs to be done to ensure job security.”

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