Amazon is gearing up to settle a dispute from a group of delivery drivers which accuses the retailer of stopping them from earning thousands of pounds.
The claim could cost Amazon £140m according to lawyers involved in the dispute, first reported by The Guardian.
Drivers delivering for the ecommerce giant through its “delivery service partners” (DSPs) are termed as self-employed and therefore don’t require an employment contract.
This means the workers are not given access to benefits such as the minimum wage and holiday pay.
Solicitors Leigh Day initially brought a claim against the delivery firm and its DSPs in 2021, arguing that roughly 3,000 drivers were entitled to an average of £10,500 in compensation for every year they had worked at Amazon.
The claim was based on the argument that the delivery drivers’ working conditions were dictated by Amazon, meaning they should have more employment rights.
Speaking to the law firm, drivers said the app gave them estimated travel times between deliveries that they needed to meet.
They also said they were not able to return parcels to the Amazon depot and so needed to use extra fuel to redeliver them at the end of every day.
After paying vehicle rental and insurance, the drivers said they were often left with little earnings.
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While it was not reported how many workers had received settlement offers or how much this would end up costing Amazon and its DSPs, the law firm said the drivers could be entitled to a total of £140m.
Delivery drivers represented by Leigh Day in an employment tribunal have been given settlement offers paid for by Amazon and its DSPs.
The workers are expected to be given the money after Christmas, with some pay-outs worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The news comes after Amazon recently hailed a new record-breaking Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday period.
The online giant said its seasonal sale event was its largest to date, compared to the same 12-day period ending on Cyber Monday in prior years.
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