Gig workers earn on average £8.97 per hour – 15% below the current UK national living wage.
A study by the universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford found that 52% of workers in the gig-economy, from food delivery couriers to web designers, were earning an hourly rate that fell below the legal minimum.
The national living wage for 2023, the legal minimum for workers aged 23 and over, rose to £10.42 last month. For workers aged 21-22, the minimum wage is £10.18.
Three-quarters of survey respondents said they experienced work-related insecurity and anxiety. Twenty-eight per cent felt they were risking their health or safety by working in the gig economy, while 25% experienced pain on the job.
Gig economy
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Lead author Dr Alex Wood, senior lecturer in human resource management at the University of Bristol Business School, said: “A major factor contributing to low pay rates is that this work involves spending significant amounts of time waiting or looking for work while logged on to a platform. Not only is the work low paid, but it is also extremely insecure and risky.
“The self-employed who are dependent on platforms to make a living are urgently in need of labour protections to shield them against the huge power asymmetries that exist in the sector. This clearly warrants the expansion of the current ‘worker’ status to protect them.”
More than 500 gig workers in the UK were surveyed last year, including taxi drivers, people who used platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr to pick up freelance work, and those who delivered food for companies such as Deliveroo.
The Gig Rights and Gig Wrongs study found that most respondents were using gig work as their main source of income, comprising 60% of their total earnings, on average. They spent on average 28 hours a week undertaking gig work.
One in three received 90% or more of their total earnings from gig work or spent at least 37.5 hours per week using such platforms.
Eighty-eight per cent said they were self-employed, but 8% identified as an employee. Only 2% said they were classified as a worker (dependent contractor).
Asked what would improve their situation, many called for basic workers’ rights such as a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal.
Gig workers at platforms including Uber and Deliveroo have taken to the courts in order to win basic rights. More recently, the Supreme Court heard a case brought by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain on behalf of Deliveroo workers, who are seeking the right to form a collective bargaining unit.
In 2021 the Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers are workers and are therefore entitled to basic rights including paid holiday, the national minimum wage and protection against discrimination.
The study’s findings suggest there could be strong support for European-style works councils that exist in countries like Germany, allowing workers from across the gig economy to have a say over decisions which affect their ability to make a living.
Eighty-two per cent agreed they would be interested in improving wages collaboratively and 64% would join a trade union.
Brendan Burchell, professor in social sciences at the University of Cambridge, said: “Respondents strongly felt the creation of co-determination mechanisms would allow workers, and their representatives, to influence platform provider decisions which could instantly improve their working lives.
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“These policies include elected bodies of worker representatives approving all major platform changes that impact jobs and working conditions. Our findings emphasise the potential for trade union growth in this sector, with majorities being willing to join and even organise such bodies.”
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