I work for a delivery service provider on behalf of Amazon but is this even legal..?

AvoidCityMainInsurance

Hi guys I work as a delivery service driver, delivering Amazon parcels. I'm not directly employed by Amazon, I'm self employed and work for a delivery company who then gets paid by Amazon to pay us (the drivers) the depot is owned by Amazon so if you are kicked off site, that's it, you can't work for any other the other service deliver network providers on site..

Anyway I get paid £72.00 a day and I typically have to deliver around 150 - 180 parcels a day. You not get the same route and other drivers might get 220 parcels a day..

I get in for 7 o'clock, and I don't get back to the depot for like 8-9pm. I'm delivering to all different kinds of places, and they expect you to hurry up, finish your typical route 150 plus parcels route by 5 and go help other drivers if their stuck, not realising that we are yes, actually humans and amount we have to deliver is madness and dam right dangerous. It's not just residentials we deliver to, cottages, businesses, then traffic etc it all adds up.

A typical day easily consists of 14 hours shifts, I never opt out working over this amount and working 14 hour shifts for 5 days a week and getting paid only 72 quid a day is slave labour..

I'm so tired that I'm nearly falling asleep behind the wheel. Is their anything legally I and other workers can do to stop this from continuing? We are treated like slave workers getting slave pay, it's dangerous and isn't healthy.

I haven't made a scene about this to management as they don't care, none of them are a people's person, they are rude and I can't afford to lose my job, seeing as I'm self employed, they can get rid of me anytime.

Guest101

Yes... Find a new job.


You aren't really self employed, but to be honest you are not going to win anything by proving that.


They can get rid of you at any time for the first two year, employed or self employed.

Undervalued

AvoidCityMainInsurance wrote: »

I'm so tired that I'm nearly falling asleep behind the wheel. Is their anything legally I and other workers can do to stop this from continuing? We are treated like slave workers getting slave pay, it's dangerous and isn't healthy.

Without wishing to add to your woes remember you are legally responsible for your fitness to drive. If you drive when unfit and have an accident it is you that will get prosecuted, not your employer / client.

If you are actually an employee then their may be some recourse as it would seem you are being paid less than the NMW. However if genuinely self employed then it is, in theory, up to you to decide if the business is economic.

steampowered

Hello, I understand there are fixed legal limits on the amount of time you can drive in a day which apply regardless of whether you are employed or self-employed. See https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/rules-for-employers.

It sounds like you are exceeding those limits. You may wish to report this to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

motorguy

AvoidCityMainInsurance wrote: »

Hi guys I work as a delivery service driver, delivering Amazon parcels. I'm not directly employed by Amazon, I'm self employed and work for a delivery company who then gets paid by Amazon to pay us (the drivers) the depot is owned by Amazon so if you are kicked off site, that's it, you can't work for any other the other service deliver network providers on site..

Anyway I get paid £72.00 a day and I typically have to deliver around 150 - 180 parcels a day. You not get the same route and other drivers might get 220 parcels a day..

I get in for 7 o'clock, and I don't get back to the depot for like 8-9pm. I'm delivering to all different kinds of places, and they expect you to hurry up, finish your typical route 150 plus parcels route by 5 and go help other drivers if their stuck, not realising that we are yes, actually humans and amount we have to deliver is madness and dam right dangerous. It's not just residentials we deliver to, cottages, businesses, then traffic etc it all adds up.

A typical day easily consists of 14 hours shifts, I never opt out working over this amount and working 14 hour shifts for 5 days a week and getting paid only 72 quid a day is slave labour..

I'm so tired that I'm nearly falling asleep behind the wheel. Is their anything legally I and other workers can do to stop this from continuing? We are treated like slave workers getting slave pay, it's dangerous and isn't healthy.

I haven't made a scene about this to management as they don't care, none of them are a people's person, they are rude and I can't afford to lose my job, seeing as I'm self employed, they can get rid of me anytime.

I had an Uber driver the other day who previously did what you did for Amazon - he said it was crazy.

He left as he couldnt see any hope of it changing. He said pretty much everyone else he worked with was looking out too.

Your self employed and on a fixed rate per day, so you're basically stuffed in terms of rights.

bugslet

As steam powered mentioned, there are drivers hours issues here, in your case British Domestic, which IIRC is 11 hours duty a day.

However you are self employex, so you can hardly sue yourself. Get another job is the only answer until the tax clamp down on these kinds of practises.

sangie595

It is all rather moot, since the OP clearly has no intention of doing anything about this because they need the job. But in fact the law very much does cover this situation, and the "self-employment" is a red herring dangled by the employer to divert attention.

The OP may be an employee in actual fact, but if they are not, they very definitely are a worker. They have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward, that reward is money, they have to turn up for work as they are told to, and the employer is not a customer or client of their own limited company. Ergo, they are a worker. Workers are entitled to the national minimum wage and now the living wage. They are employed on a form of piece or time work basis, and there are special provisions within the legislation to cover these situations, which set down rules to be applied for a fair rate to be established. Laws on paid annual leave and the working time directives also still apply to workers.

But rights only go as far as someone is prepared to fight for them. There are no magic wands which summon a fairy godmother to do it for you, so unless the OP is willing to take a stand, then nothing will change.

As an aside, however, this does explain where all my missing Amazon parcels were - I cancelled by account after is became apparent that actually delivering what I ordered was an ask too far! Interestingly, that coincided exactly with the point at which they changed their delivery methods to this current one.

takman

AvoidCityMainInsurance wrote: »

Hi guys I work as a delivery service driver, delivering Amazon parcels. I'm not directly employed by Amazon, I'm self employed and work for a delivery company who then gets paid by Amazon to pay us (the drivers) the depot is owned by Amazon so if you are kicked off site, that's it, you can't work for any other the other service deliver network providers on site..

Anyway I get paid £72.00 a day and I typically have to deliver around 150 - 180 parcels a day. You not get the same route and other drivers might get 220 parcels a day..

I get in for 7 o'clock, and I don't get back to the depot for like 8-9pm. I'm delivering to all different kinds of places, and they expect you to hurry up, finish your typical route 150 plus parcels route by 5 and go help other drivers if their stuck, not realising that we are yes, actually humans and amount we have to deliver is madness and dam right dangerous. It's not just residentials we deliver to, cottages, businesses, then traffic etc it all adds up.

A typical day easily consists of 14 hours shifts, I never opt out working over this amount and working 14 hour shifts for 5 days a week and getting paid only 72 quid a day is slave labour..

I'm so tired that I'm nearly falling asleep behind the wheel. Is their anything legally I and other workers can do to stop this from continuing? We are treated like slave workers getting slave pay, it's dangerous and isn't healthy.

I haven't made a scene about this to management as they don't care, none of them are a people's person, they are rude and I can't afford to lose my job, seeing as I'm self employed, they can get rid of me anytime.

You can all refuse to provide your services until you can come to a deal that involves everyone being given a reasonable amount of parcels to deliver in a day!.

But I can't see that ever happening because the only people who do this kind of work are the ones who are desperate for the money. All the people who try this to get some extra cash soon quit after they realise how many hours they have to do a day

getmore4less

Amazon delivery is cheap for a reason.

The jobs are great for those on benefits and need hours to make the claims, they can do this part time because they don't need to be paid a living wage.

The system plays into Amazon(and others) hands to not have to pay the equivalent of min wage.

fishybusiness

The jobs are great for those on benefits and need hours to make the claims, they can do this part time because they don't need to be paid a living wage.

Ill conceived post.....

working 14 hour shifts for 5 days a week and getting paid only 72 quid a day is slave labour..

Part time meaning not 24 hours a day?

Perhaps it is the other way around, worker goes out to work 70 hours a week, cannot pick up enough money to support his family, claims benefits to top up his wage.

If he is able to claim benefits his 'part time' job obviously does not pay enough to get him up above the benefits threshold.

getmore4less

fishybusiness wrote: »

Part time meaning not 24 hours a day?

Perhaps it is the other way around, worker goes out to work 70 hours a week, cannot pick up enough money to support his family, claims benefits to top up his wage.

If he is able to claim benefits his 'part time' job obviously does not pay enough to get him up above the benefits threshold.

You don't do 70hr you do just do enough hours to kick in the top ups.