Gig or platform workers can be an overlooked group when it comes to employment protections and safety.
Clarity on their employment status has historically relied on court decisions, and while the upcoming Employment Rights Bill will crack down on “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, Labour’s promise to simplify and streamline worker status is not part of the proposed legislation.
In its latest report, A platform for success: building a better future in the gig economy, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) revealed the range of concerns held by gig workers about their rights and protections, particularly as platform owners such as Uber and Deliveroo evolve their use of artificial intelligence to drive efficiency.
Of 1,000 gig workers polled by IOSH, 58% said working for an online platform resulted in them having an unpredictable income, and 63% said this impacted their ability to take holiday. Almost two-thirds said it meant they were working unpredictable hours, and 55% had concerns about injury, illness, burnout or stress.
Designing work
Speaking at a roundtable this week discussing the report, Dr Aaron Cheng, assistant professor of Information Systems and Innovation at LSE, said that protecting these workers was “not just a regulatory issue but a design challenge”.
Gig economy rights
His research showed that gig workers often sought better pay and career progression, going against the perception that they are all in minimum wage work. “Fairness needs to be built into the task experience. They want clear pay information, feedback and a way to raise concerns. The platform providers could choose to do better.”
James Farrar, founder and director of the Worker Info Exchange and co-lead claimant in a successful claim against Uber at the Supreme Court, argued that even where employers were required to treat drivers (or other platform users) as workers, they were denied full rights as were only considered workers when “on task”, or using the app.
“We also need to stop using the word ‘gig’, as that is the language of misclassification,” he said. “I am not a poet or a jobbing actor, I’m a worker. Often drivers have to work long hours to cover their overheads.”
Paradox of autonomy
Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy and public affairs at IOSH, pointed out that platform workers were often subject to a mix of physical and psycho-social impacts to their safety. An imbalance of power between the company running the app or platform means that many fall into a situation where they can’t rest or recover, or take on jobs that could put them at risk.
The illusion of flexibility promised by apps such as Deliveroo and TaskRabbit hides the fact that there could be safety issues behind the scenes, added Adrian Simpson, head of policy at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). There is set to be a 300% rise in gig workers in the next three years, many of whom are regularly on the road using (and sometimes sharing) equipment such as e-bikes that are not subject to regular checks, he explained.
The rise of AI as an “invisible boss” in these situations means that some workers could be nudged into riskier behaviours, such as driving in extreme weather because of surge pricing, added Dr Cheng. “The app decides who gets what job, how they are rated, and sometimes who gets fired. This is the paradox of autonomy,” he said.
Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, urged the government to come up with a stronger plan to improve labour market enforcement. The Fair Work Agency won’t begin operation until 2026, and on top of that, there is a substantial backlog in the employment tribunal system that is predicted to increase once the Employment Rights Bill becomes law.
“Unless we improve the enforcement system and make it more progressive, anything else to improve employment rights will be fundamentally undermined,” he said.
Collective voice
Empowering gig and platform workers to organise or join a union will give them a greater voice in how their rights are shaped, the panel agreed.
Dr Alex Wood, assistant professor in economic sociology at the University of Cambridge, cited his own survey of platform workers. Almost two-thirds of respondents would like to join a union, while 54% said they would join with others to set one up.
“The idea of co-determination is a popular one,” he added, “where platforms have to consult workers on any major changes that would impact their conditions, and these would require approval.” Works councils are another popular way to support employee voice, and are evident in other countries in Europe.
“Gig work is so atomised that people feel isolated and lack power. It’s harder for workers to organise to negotiate better pay and conditions,” said Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East. “If your workplace is an app, how do you organise? Gig workers are also often carers, cleaners and people that offer childcare – sectors often dominated by women.”
As AI becomes more powerful, the need for collective voice will be even greater, said Tim Sharp, senior policy officer at the TUC. The upcoming Data (Use and Access) Bill stops short of allowing workers to access information held on them for algorithmic purposes, so it is a “missed opportunity”, he argued. The TUC has long campaigned for more oversight of algorithmic decisions that affect workers.
Rebalancing power
Ultimately, more needs to be done to rebalance power between platform companies and workers, and greater consultation on the influence of AI over their work, the panel concluded.
“The use of AI is not limited to the gig economy,” said Andy Chamberlain, director of policy at IPSE (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed). “Algorithms will have a huge impact on how people access opportunities whether they are self-employed or otherwise.”
That said, more clarity on worker status could reduce the risk of exploitation for many workers, added Farrar. Algorithms can make the ability to substitute workers easier, for example, meaning that companies can classify workers as self-employed and their work becomes riskier and less protected. Legislation to clarify this could minimise this happening.
“Big employers can create these types of precarious conditions overnight, which can create a hostile environment at work for many marginalised workers,” he said. Without transparency over how algorithms operate, workers could be subject to hyper-variable pay and not know why, or be taken off jobs without explanation.
“We must not prioritise efficiency over safety,” concluded Simson from RoSPA. “We all know consumers who will pay more to get something quicker. But platform operators must be responsible and ensure safety is not at risk as a result.”
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