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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Hermes delivery driver's diary shows flipside to Christmas shopping | Hermes delivery driver's diary shows flipside to Christmas shopping |
| (30 days later) | |
| Self-employed drivers work long hours and battle traffic, weather and Christmas logistics to make just over minimum wage | |
| Sarah Butler | |
| Mon 18 Dec 2017 17.19 GMT | |
| Last modified on Tue 19 Dec 2017 11.14 GMT | |
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| Online retailers are expecting record UK sales this Christmas, with deliveries running right up to 24 December. An army of drivers is being deployed to deliver these purchases to shoppers’ homes. | Online retailers are expecting record UK sales this Christmas, with deliveries running right up to 24 December. An army of drivers is being deployed to deliver these purchases to shoppers’ homes. |
| Most drivers are self-employed contractors paid by the hour or per parcel delivered with no guarantee of earning the national minimum wage, holiday pay or sick pay. | Most drivers are self-employed contractors paid by the hour or per parcel delivered with no guarantee of earning the national minimum wage, holiday pay or sick pay. |
| The Guardian asked one self-employed driver for delivery firm Hermes to record the work he has been doing and the pay he has been receiving. He is a member of the GMB trade union, which is backing a legal claim from workers who believe they are wrongly classed as self-employed independent contractors. | The Guardian asked one self-employed driver for delivery firm Hermes to record the work he has been doing and the pay he has been receiving. He is a member of the GMB trade union, which is backing a legal claim from workers who believe they are wrongly classed as self-employed independent contractors. |
| The courier, who has asked to remain anonymous, is paid for each delivery: 65p for a parcel; 45p per packet (which are smaller items). He delivers an average of 100 items a day, but throughout the year that workload can vary between 30 and 170, with little warning. He also gets 45p for picking up unwanted items from homes. He must pay petrol costs, of £20 to £30 a day, plus other costs such as insuring and maintaining his van. | The courier, who has asked to remain anonymous, is paid for each delivery: 65p for a parcel; 45p per packet (which are smaller items). He delivers an average of 100 items a day, but throughout the year that workload can vary between 30 and 170, with little warning. He also gets 45p for picking up unwanted items from homes. He must pay petrol costs, of £20 to £30 a day, plus other costs such as insuring and maintaining his van. |
| Each morning drivers get a manifest – a list of parcels – and over the Christmas period they get a £4 bonus if they can deliver a certain percentage of the parcels listed on that day. There is another £4 bonus for delivering the list of parcels within the estimated delivery time set at the beginning of the day. | Each morning drivers get a manifest – a list of parcels – and over the Christmas period they get a £4 bonus if they can deliver a certain percentage of the parcels listed on that day. There is another £4 bonus for delivering the list of parcels within the estimated delivery time set at the beginning of the day. |
| This driver’s day begins with a delivery van dropping off the parcels at his home. A manifest is downloaded to his hand-held terminal. He must then scan all the parcels delivered to him and calculate an estimated delivery time. There can be parcels missing or unexpected additional items. | This driver’s day begins with a delivery van dropping off the parcels at his home. A manifest is downloaded to his hand-held terminal. He must then scan all the parcels delivered to him and calculate an estimated delivery time. There can be parcels missing or unexpected additional items. |
| This is the courier’s work diary… | This is the courier’s work diary… |
| Friday 8 December Long day today as van late. Cleared all parcels from late van. One customer gave me a cuppa to keep me going. Earned about £129 for 11-hour day nonstop to clear backlog – £11.70 an hour before petrol and other costs. Couple of customers gave me a Christmas tip: a bottle of whisky and £10. Very gratefully received. | Friday 8 December Long day today as van late. Cleared all parcels from late van. One customer gave me a cuppa to keep me going. Earned about £129 for 11-hour day nonstop to clear backlog – £11.70 an hour before petrol and other costs. Couple of customers gave me a Christmas tip: a bottle of whisky and £10. Very gratefully received. |
| Saturday 9 December Almost a standard day today, seven hours, but the packet scam (in which companies mislabel large parcels as packets so that that won’t have to pay so much for delivery) is getting annoying. We either weigh and measure parcels or get underpaid for what we deliver. I now submit upgrades daily to ensure I’m paid right. About £88 for seven hours – £12.50 an hour before petrol and other costs. | Saturday 9 December Almost a standard day today, seven hours, but the packet scam (in which companies mislabel large parcels as packets so that that won’t have to pay so much for delivery) is getting annoying. We either weigh and measure parcels or get underpaid for what we deliver. I now submit upgrades daily to ensure I’m paid right. About £88 for seven hours – £12.50 an hour before petrol and other costs. |
| Sunday 10 December Off today. Glad of the rest. | Sunday 10 December Off today. Glad of the rest. |
| Monday 11 December Frozen solid here but not much snow. Just makes it harder. Loads of damaged parcels today. Told compliance manager that I refuse to deliver trashed parcels that may well be Christmas presents. She threatened me with an improvement notice. Earned about £143 for 10.5 hours – £13.60 an hour before costs. Good day for me. | Monday 11 December Frozen solid here but not much snow. Just makes it harder. Loads of damaged parcels today. Told compliance manager that I refuse to deliver trashed parcels that may well be Christmas presents. She threatened me with an improvement notice. Earned about £143 for 10.5 hours – £13.60 an hour before costs. Good day for me. |
| Tuesday 12 December Roads very slippery today and slowed down deliveries. More customers wanting fourth and fifth delivery attempts. I’m not paid any extra for the first three attempts. Quieter day today. About £77 for 7.5 hours – £10.26 an hour before costs. But very slow on some roads that haven’t been gritted so used lots of fuel today on slippery roads and crawling along in slow traffic. | Tuesday 12 December Roads very slippery today and slowed down deliveries. More customers wanting fourth and fifth delivery attempts. I’m not paid any extra for the first three attempts. Quieter day today. About £77 for 7.5 hours – £10.26 an hour before costs. But very slow on some roads that haven’t been gritted so used lots of fuel today on slippery roads and crawling along in slow traffic. |
| Wednesday 13 December Van late again today. There’s parcels not listed on the manifest, all big boxes too. I asked if I was going to be paid extra for them as they are bigger than my contract. Answer is no, it’s just part of the job. Had to return home to reload the van six times as so many parcels. About £124 for 11 hours today – £11.30 an hour before costs. . | Wednesday 13 December Van late again today. There’s parcels not listed on the manifest, all big boxes too. I asked if I was going to be paid extra for them as they are bigger than my contract. Answer is no, it’s just part of the job. Had to return home to reload the van six times as so many parcels. About £124 for 11 hours today – £11.30 an hour before costs. . |
| Thursday 14 December Good day today. Van on time and a shorter day. Six hours and home. Still some damaged parcels, but sending then all back now so the customer doesn’t have to sort things out. Only earned about £42 today (£6.95 an hour) but great to have a shorter day and see my wife. | Thursday 14 December Good day today. Van on time and a shorter day. Six hours and home. Still some damaged parcels, but sending then all back now so the customer doesn’t have to sort things out. Only earned about £42 today (£6.95 an hour) but great to have a shorter day and see my wife. |
| Friday 15 December Christmas peak is not over. Lots of large boxes today so had to reload the van four times. It has rained all day. Just makes things harder. £145 for 9.5 hours today – £15.20 an hour before costs. | Friday 15 December Christmas peak is not over. Lots of large boxes today so had to reload the van four times. It has rained all day. Just makes things harder. £145 for 9.5 hours today – £15.20 an hour before costs. |
| Hermes response | Hermes response |
| In response to the driver’s diary, Hermes said it was committed to paying its couriers fairly. It said they were paid per parcel, typically capped at between 50 and 80 items a day depending on the area. | In response to the driver’s diary, Hermes said it was committed to paying its couriers fairly. It said they were paid per parcel, typically capped at between 50 and 80 items a day depending on the area. |
| It said the average courier rate over a year is £10.60 an hour after all expenses have been deducted, which is 41% above the national living wage, which is £7.50 per hour for over 25s. “This has been verified using real-time data gathered from a significant sample of rounds over the past 12 months, supported by extensive route modelling,” it said. | It said the average courier rate over a year is £10.60 an hour after all expenses have been deducted, which is 41% above the national living wage, which is £7.50 per hour for over 25s. “This has been verified using real-time data gathered from a significant sample of rounds over the past 12 months, supported by extensive route modelling,” it said. |
| Hermes said that less than 1% of parcels over the year were sent to couriers without being listed on their manifest and as long as they were scanned and delivered this did not affect pay. The company said its records showed that on average 2-3% of its vans were more than 15 minutes late to deliver parcels to couriers and “virtually no van” is more than 30 minutes late. In these cases, Hermes said couriers were given “ad hoc payments” to cover waiting time. The driver said he had never heard about such payments. | Hermes said that less than 1% of parcels over the year were sent to couriers without being listed on their manifest and as long as they were scanned and delivered this did not affect pay. The company said its records showed that on average 2-3% of its vans were more than 15 minutes late to deliver parcels to couriers and “virtually no van” is more than 30 minutes late. In these cases, Hermes said couriers were given “ad hoc payments” to cover waiting time. The driver said he had never heard about such payments. |
| The company added it had “numerous processes” in place to identify damaged parcels within its depots: “If a courier believes that they have received a damaged parcel they are encouraged to send it back to the depot marked as damaged.” | The company added it had “numerous processes” in place to identify damaged parcels within its depots: “If a courier believes that they have received a damaged parcel they are encouraged to send it back to the depot marked as damaged.” |
| It said couriers could choose to deliver larger parcels for extra payment and it did not ask drivers to deliver more than three times without extra payment. Drivers can opt to deliver more during peak season and get “ad hoc payments” if they have to return to the Hermes depot to pick up. | It said couriers could choose to deliver larger parcels for extra payment and it did not ask drivers to deliver more than three times without extra payment. Drivers can opt to deliver more during peak season and get “ad hoc payments” if they have to return to the Hermes depot to pick up. |
| “If a courier feels they cannot deal with the volume of parcels on their round then they can consult the one of 350 field managers to ensure the round is designed to meet their request,” the company said. | “If a courier feels they cannot deal with the volume of parcels on their round then they can consult the one of 350 field managers to ensure the round is designed to meet their request,” the company said. |
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| Couriers/delivery industry | |
| Gig economy | |
| Hermes | |
| Online shopping | |
| Consumer affairs | |
| Inequality | |
| news | |
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