The GMB trade union, is set to launch legal proceedings against courier company Hermes, arguing that the drivers are not self-employed and should have the same rights as employees.

The delivery company said that it has 14,500 couriers in Britain which they consider as self-employed. The legal proceedings follow a similar case against Uber in which a group of drivers won a landmark case that argued that Uber drivers should be entitled to the same rights as regular workers. In that particular lawsuit, the GMB Union backed the Uber drivers.

Last year, Business Minister Margot James’ requested tax inspectors to investigate alleged complaints of low pay of self-employed couriers who work for Hermes.

Dave Chaplin, CEO and founder of Contractor Calculator, commented, “The Hermes case is very similar to the recent Dewhurst versus CitySprint case where the worker was clearly engrained within the organisation and there was a sufficient amount of mutuality of obligations between both the worker and the company. The same issues are likely to give the drivers the best chance of success here. What is key is considering whether the person is "part and parcel" of the organisation. In this case, it seems it may well be that not only were parcels being delivered, but the workers are part-and-parcel themselves.

"In our submission to the Taylor report we highlighted our concerns whereby day workers who had gaps between tasks during their day were being converted unfairly to self-employed on-demand workers, without gaps between work being paid for and rights being taken away. Uber, Citysprint and Hermes all have the same business models. It's clearly unethical and not right. These workers are clearly not self-employed and are being exploited by their employers and such practices should be stamped out," Chaplin said.

Julia Kermode, Chief Executive of Freelancer and Contractor Services Association, also commented, “Employment status is complex as we saw in the recent tribunal between Dhillon and Dhillon v HMRC which reiterated the need to look at the whole picture when assessing the status of a worker and avoid 'a checklist approach.”

"It is unacceptable that anyone should earn below the minimum wage and employers should treat their workforces properly so that exploitation cannot happen, whether they are genuinely employed or self-employed. The issue is not about being self-employed but about potentially exploitative employment practices,” Kermode said.

“We know that the Government is committed to stamping out false self-employment and ensuring that everyone who should have employment rights and protections does receive them in practice. It is frustrating that current media attention seems to imply that there is something wrong with self-employment and it must be remembered that the vast majority of self-employed workers choose to operate in this way due to the flexibility it offers," Kermode said.

A Hermes spokesperson commented to Staffing Industry Analysts, "We are unaware of any legal proceedings against us by the GMB. However, we will contest any challenge to our self employed courier model on the same grounds that we have successfully resolved other claims."