15 April 2021

Many Deliveroo riders have been left unable to access their earnings and told to pay back hundreds of pounds to the company after a technical glitch.

Deliveroo had promised riders payments of between £200 and £10,000 from a £16m fund to thank them for their hard work when the company listed its shares on the stock market earlier this month.

Some riders logged into the app on Tuesday to find they had been paid more than they expected while others received nothing. Some riders said they had withdrawn the bonus only to see the following day that their account with Deliveroo had been debited by £500 and in some cases more.

To prevent riders cashing out the overpaid bonus amounts, Deliveroo temporarily stopped all withdrawals, leaving riders without access to their earnings.

It is the latest incident to increase tension between Deliveroo and many of its riders. Hundreds of riders organised by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain went on strike last week to demand workers’ rights, a living wage and further safety protections...

A spokesperson for Deliveroo said the £16m thank you fund would be paid in full and that a technical error meant that a “small number” of riders were offered a higher payment than was intended...

“All riders eligible for the Thank You Fund will receive the amount they were intended to receive, which we are delighted to give. We have apologised to riders for this confusion,” the spokesperson said.

The technology glitch comes after Deliveroo flopped on its stock market debut earlier this month.

The company had sought a valuation as high as $8.8bn but cut that to $7.9bn before the initial public offering. Its share price plunged on the opening day and remains 30 per cent down.

Large investors had balked at the price tag and raised concerns about workers’ rights. Deliveroo riders are classed as independent contractors, an arrangement which the company says offers flexibility but which also means it does not pay holiday pay, pension contributions or a guaranteed minimum wage...

Deliveroo is under increasing pressure to grant riders further rights after rival Just Eat took on 2,000 of its riders as employees.