London cycle courier allegedly 'punished' for refusing shifts

Andrew Boxer, a contractor for Excel - a courier firm in liquidation that was taken over by CitySprint - is launching a case to be classified as a worker, rather than an independent contractor.

The Guardian reports that Boxer is not entitled to the national minimum wage, holiday pay, sickness benefit or a pension. He told the Central London employment tribunal that he could not refuse work during a shift, take time off without prior arrangement and had no official break times.

Boxer’s case is being backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB). Jason Moyer-Lee, General Secretary of the IWGB, said the union wanted to challenge the industry-wide practice of classing couriers as independent contractors.

Boxer said that he signed two contracts describing him as a self-employed subcontractor. He incorrectly suggested that he could send a replacement to cover his work for him because he had no other option if he wanted to continue working for Excel.