The International Workers Union of Great Britain begins a legal battle today to secure workers rights such as sick and holiday pay for riders of the food courier firm Deliveroo, reports Reuters. A panel chaired by a judge is expected to hear the case until Thursday and a final decision is expected to be reached in the weeks after. “For years employers in the so-called gig economy have been able to get away with unlawfully depriving their workers of employment rights to which they are legally entitled," IWGB General Secretary Jason Moyer-Lee said.

In a letter to its couriers, Deliveroo UK Managing Director Dan Warne said, "If you were a worker as the IWGB propose, Deliveroo would no longer be able to run its business like this. You would be required to commit to fixed hours, giving up this flexibility of fee per delivery.” Last year, a group of drivers filed a lawsuit against Uber over employment rights and claims with a London Tribunal ruling in favour of the Uber drivers.