Just Eat planning to make 1,700 couriers redundant in the UK
Just Eat is planning to make 1,700 couriers redundant in the UK as the takeaway delivery firm shifts back towards a gig-economy model and ditches guaranteed minimum pay, sick pay and holiday pay.
A further 170 head office staffwill also lose their jobs as the firm attempts to cut costs in a highly competitive market.
It is understood that the majority of the head office roles are in the UK, in London and the cities where Scoober operated.
The company took 10% fewer orders last year in the UK and Ireland while losses for the group ballooned to €5.7bn (£5bn) from €1bn a year before after a series of strategic missteps including the acquisition of US delivery firm Grubhub and Brazil’s iFood.
The courier redundancies mark a U-turn from Just Eat’s previous aim to end gig-working across Europe by offering worker status – which guarantees better employment rights than the self-employed contractor model widely used by rivals including Deliveroo.
Just Eat began offering worker contracts in 2020 and signed up more than 3,000 of its couriers in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Cambridge and Brighton at the peak to what it calls Scoober. Those numbers have since fallen to 1,700 as riders have moved on. Just Eat has offered fewer couriers its new deal and riders have been given six weeks notice with pay.
Within Scoober – the riders were entitled to more than the legal minimum in hourly pay, pension contributions and benefits including holiday pay and sick pay.
The couriers also work set shifts, are provided with e-bikes or e-mopeds, which are maintained by the company, and have the option to operate from a central hub, where they can pick up equipment and take breaks. They stopped working for several other apps at the same time as
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