Couriers get rights court battle on road

THE latest fightback against the so-called “gig economy” begins today as bicycle couriers launch a tribunal battle for basic employment rights.

The hearing at the London Central Tribunal in Holborn is expected to last for four days and comes a month after taxi-hailing app Uber lost a key judgment, entitling 40,000 drivers to holiday pay and the national living wage.

Uber is appealing.

Maggie Dewhurst’s case against the CitySprint courier firm is the first of four scheduled to run over the months ahead, all to be heard by the same judge.

Three other claimants — Chris Gascoigne, Demille Flanore and Andrew Boxer — are taking on courier firms Excel, Addison Lee and eCourier, backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain.

The quartet are currently classified as independent contractors by the businesses, denying them rights.