"Hermes couriers are workers, not self-employed, tribunal rules", 25 June 2018

A group of Hermes couriers have won their fight to be treated as workers instead of independent contractors in what has been described as one of the most significant victories against exploitation of gig-economy workers. An employment tribunal in Leeds ruled that the couriers were entitled to receive the minimum wage and holiday pay, and to reclaim unlawful deductions from their wages, because they had incorrectly been classified as self-employed...Frank Field, the Labour chair of the work and pensions committee, said the decision ranked "among the most substantial judicial interventions ever to support vulnerable workers in this country"...Roache urged Hermes to have a meaningful discussion with the union but the delivery company indicated it would appeal against the judgment...Field, who co-authored a 2016 report, Wild West Workplace, Self-Employment in Britain's "Gig Economy", said it was "a mega knockback to those companies still using old means of exploiting vulnerable workers".