Internal staff email warns Foodora about “sham contracting”, as gig economy scrutiny builds

A leaked email from a manager at food delivery service Foodora has suggested the company’s contracts are “concerning” from a legal perspective, as one gig economy expert says scrutiny on the space will be widespread in years to come and the fallout could be significant.

Fairfax reports it has cited an email from a client manager to senior leaders at the gig economy platform in Australia, which suggests Foodora contracts “may have lines in them which blur the lines between employment or contractor arrangements”.

In the email, the manager reportedly said the company should be concerned about how it outlines its relationship with its contractors, saying businesses are not able to represent an employment relationship as an independent contract if it meant this gave “the company more control” over its workers.

Legal experts have previously told SmartCompany that in order for a contracting arrangement to be legitimate, workers need to have control over providing their services to a business, as well as fulfilling criteria like providing their own tools and having the freedom to work for other clients or businesses. Read more

Emma Koehn - Smart Company - 30 Apr 2018