Britannia Experiences The New Economy

Britannia Experiences The New Economy

Deliveroo is a food delivery service, headquartered in the United Kingdom, which serves 140 cities in 12 countries. A recent document from its UK headquarters tried to draw a line between the 1,000 full-time employees who take food orders and otherwise work in company offices and the 15,000 “riders” who actually make deliveries. All employees of Deliveroo were to refer to its couriers as “independent suppliers,” not as employees or staff; to insist that couriers do not sign in for work but rather they “log in;” to pay their “invoices” for work rather than a salary or wage; and to “terminate the supplier agreement” instead of firing them. These kinds of characterizations make Deliveroo not responsible for the couriers’ insurance, holiday pay, sick pay and minimum wage. The New Economy “platform companies,” such as Deliveroo and Uber, seek to minimize as many assets as possible, including employees, and commission work as needed from independent contractors, or workers who do “gig work.” Deliveroo faces a lawsuit from 20 couriers who insist they are employees, no matter what they are called by the company. Deliveroo’s operational model is from the New Economy, and the lawsuit it faces is part of society’s pushback against the economic stresses that the New Economy is imposing on workers. While Great Britain’seconomic pressures are often portrayed as being related to the British vote to leave the European Union, the reality is that Great Britain, like the United States, is dealing with the implications of a changing economy.

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