Gig economy workers are really feeling the brunt of coronavirus here in the UK. Gig economy workers we feel”abandoned and left penniless” if they have to self isolate for as much as 14 days because of the threat of coronavirus.
From delivery drivers at Deliveroo to Uber drivers, taking time off for these workers, means no pay at all. Self isolation lasts for 14 days; that’s half a months wages, which some people just can’t afford to loose.
The government has been accused of failing to grasp the threat of gig economy workers spreading coronavirus, after a minister advised those with no sick pay who have to self-isolate to claim benefits instead.
The gig economy has more than doubled in size in the three years up to 2019, having gone up from 4.7 million to 7.5 million having tried a gig platform at some point.
Some gig workers work in hospitality and are likely to still go to work despite feeling sick or having to self isolate, so that they can earn some money. This is just allowing the virus to spread faster and further, but who can blame them? Bearing in mind that Universal Credit can take up to five weeks to process, the government are not doing much to help workers survive.
Christina McAnea, Unison assistant general secretary, told The Guardian: “If they stay off work, staff need to know they have enough money to feed their families and pay rent. Waiting up to five weeks to get benefits runs the risk of them covering up symptoms.”
So what are companies doing to help?
We must remember that a lot of gig workers are public, mobile roles which means they come into contact with A LOT of people (couriers, food delivery, Ubers, hospitality workers) and therefore risk spreading the virus.
Hermes, which hires their delivery drivers on a self-employed basis, and is one of the UK’s largest delivery companies has said: “If our self-employed couriers have to self-isolate we will support them in finding someone to deliver on their behalf if they do not have a substitute. Hermes will also guarantee that their rounds will be kept open for them for when they return.”
DPD is not offering sick pay or any financial support at the moment. Just telling their workers what most of us already know: “We are providing advice to all our drivers, which includes encouraging them to follow the standard preventative measures and talking to their relationship manager if they have any specific concerns.”
Deliveroo are considering financial support for their UK workers as they have done in Hong Kong
Uber have not commented on whether they will support their workers financially, but have advised drivers that if they feel any mild symptoms, respiratory symptoms or fever, they should stay at home. This does not encourage workers to self isolate when it means loosing money.
If you use any of the following gig apps, be sure to contact them, so that you know what kind of financial support you get, should you need to self isolate:
Catapult: www.catapult.com
BuzzHire: https://buzzhire.co/contact/
OffToWork: www.offtowork.co.uk/contact-us/
Coople: www.coople.com/uk/contact/
Syft: www.syftapp.com
Gigl: www.getgigl.com
Uber: www.uber.com
Deliveroo: www.deliveroo.com
Hermes: www.myhermes.co.uk
Amazon: www.flex.amazon.co.uk/
DPD: www.dpd.co.uk
It is a scary time at the moment in the UK, with a lot of companies urging staff to work from home, events being cancelled and our economy suffering because of the virus.
In order to keep ourselves healthy and to reduce the risk of catching the virus, let’s make sure we continue to follow the guidelines given by the government. We’ve put some information below from the World Health Organization, to help you prevent the risk of infection
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