Amazon drivers win £20,000 in back pay

DELIVERY drivers for Amazon are to get £20,000 in back pay because they were wrongly described as self-employed, a union said yesterday.

The GMB was preparing to take an employment tribunal case on behalf of a group of Midlands-based drivers working for UK Express, a logistics company that delivers for Amazon.

It said UK Express drivers are wrongly defined as self-employed instead of employees, and so were entitled to paid annual leave, the national minimum wage, paid rest breaks and protection from unfair dismissal.

An agreement has been reached to avoid a tribunal hearing, with some drivers receiving almost £20,000 in back pay, the GMB said.

Maria Ludkin, the union’s legal director, said: “This is yet another brick in the road in GMB’S battle against bogus self-employment. Some employers seem to think they can avoid paying the minimum wage or giving their workers protection.

“However, as Amazon and UK Express have now realised, this is not optional, it’s the law. The drivers delivering for Amazon, like Uber drivers and delivery drivers for DX, are clearly employees and it is gratifying that the company is shelling out 100 per cent of the amounts claimed.”