Towards privatized social and employment protections in the platform economy? Evidence from the UK courier sector

Rolf, Steven; O’Reilly, Jacqueline; Meryon, Marc

doi:10.1016/j.respol.2022.104492

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Firstly, our findings indicate greater diversity among couriers than suggested by current literature [50,58], both in terms of profile and occupational status. Almost half of the respondents in Paris are salaried workers or cooperators, which suggests the need for a specific analysis of their motivations and working conditions compared with self-employed people.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 44%

“…By contrast with traditional delivery services, platformbased food delivery couriers are mainly independent contractors [50,58] paid per delivery run, and often in precarious situations [44]. They have very limited social protection (particularly unemployment benefits, while healthcare varies between countries).…”

Section: Activity and Mobility Patterns 221 General Working Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Platform-based food delivery in Paris before and during the pandemic: profile, motivations and mobility patterns of couriers

Aguiléra¹,

Dablanc²,

Krier

et al. 2022

Eur. Transp. Res. Rev.

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Background Platform-based fast delivery is developing rapidly in many cities across the world, especially in the food sector. Yet knowledge about the characteristics and the activity patterns of delivery couriers is scarce, especially in terms of their mobility behavior. Methodology Based on two questionnaire surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021 with 300 and 500 couriers respectively, this article analyses the profiles, motivations and mobility patterns of couriers working in Paris (France), with a focus on the impacts of the pandemic. Results First, the analysis of the profiles and motivations of couriers reveals that platform-based delivery is largely a temporary activity performed by young males of foreign origin, and undertaken as a student job or an entry to the labor market. Second, data on mobility patterns confirm that platform-based delivery is a dangerous activity with a high risk of road accidents. Moreover, many couriers break the law in order to increase their income by using motorized two-wheelers that are not legally permitted in France. We also show the use of shared bikes, which seems to be a great support tool for couriers who are starting work in this sector or have a problem with their own bikes. Third, the pandemic prompted many students to become platform-based delivery couriers in order to compensate for the lack of student jobs. It also worsened the working conditions of the majority of platform-based couriers. These findings raise new urban policy challenges and also new avenues for research in terms of topics and methods.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 44%

Section: Activity and Mobility Patterns 221 General Working Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Platform-based food delivery in Paris before and during the pandemic: profile, motivations and mobility patterns of couriers

Aguiléra¹,

Dablanc²,

Krier

et al. 2022

Eur. Transp. Res. Rev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“… Kaine and Josserand (2019) suggest that the gig economy is also called the platform, on-demand and digitally enabled economy depending on the circumstances. It is called the platform economy due to individuals continually screening digital platforms for new job opportunities ( Rolf, O'Reilly, & Meryon, 2022 ). The on-demand economy refers to the idea that work is only advertised when it is needed making it occur on a sporadic rather than continual basis ( Anicich, 2022 ).…”

Section: Changes In Management Education Teaching and Learning Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The gig economy focuses on task-based work with set time periods. Online employment platforms advertising for work have fuelled the growth of electronically mediated jobs ( Rolf et al, 2022 ). Kaine and Josserand (2019) state that there are two main categories of gig work: ‘crowdwork’ and ‘work on demand’.…”

Section: Changes In Management Education Teaching and Learning Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The post COVID-19 pandemic era: Changes in teaching and learning methods for management educators

Ratten

2023

The International Journal of Management Education

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“…Given the importance of legal issues around employment status in platform work -as well as other regulatory issues around platform business practices -it would be odd to exclude litigation from our analysis of protest events. Moreover, in many cases, the development of platform worker legal action is closely entwined with building union organization and use of other forms of protest (Rolf, O'Reilly and Meryon 2021;Aslam and Woodcock 2020).…”

Section: Types Of Protestmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global analysis of worker protest in digital labour platforms

Bessa¹,

Joyce²,

Neumann³

et al. 2022

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This paper presents findings from the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest, a database of platform worker protest events around the world which gathers data from online news media reports and other online sources. For the period January 2017 to July 2020, we identified 1,271 instances of worker protest in four platform sectors: ride-hailing, food delivery, courier services and grocery delivery. Our results show that the single most important cause of platform worker protest is pay, with other protested issues including employment status, and health and safety. In most global regions, strikes, log-offs and demonstrations predominated as a form of protest. Furthermore, platform worker protests showed a strong tendency to be driven from below by worker self-organization, although trade unions also had an important presence in some parts of the world. From the four platform sectors examined, ride-hailing and food delivery accounted for most protest events. Although the growth of platform worker organization is remarkable, formal collective bargaining is uncommon, as is formal employment, with ad hoc self-organized groups of workers dominating labour protest across the different sectors, particularly in the global South.

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Towards privatized social and employment protections in the platform economy? Evidence from the UK courier sector

Cited by 21 publications

References 58 publications

Platform-based food delivery in Paris before and during the pandemic: profile, motivations and mobility patterns of couriers

Platform-based food delivery in Paris before and during the pandemic: profile, motivations and mobility patterns of couriers

The post COVID-19 pandemic era: Changes in teaching and learning methods for management educators

A global analysis of worker protest in digital labour platforms

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