Menulog, an Australian and New Zealand online food ordering app and work services platform, has reportedly become the first major gig economy delivery company to directly employ workers, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. It comes two months after the platform announced it would trial a move away from the independent contractor model that has been criticised for lacking unfair dismissal protections and a minimum wage. The company’s Australian managing director Morten Belling said the company would not permanently switch to an employment model wholesale without the introduction of more flexible industrial laws to address what it sees as unaffordable penalty rates of up to AUD 50 (USD 37.53) an hour. Labour standards in the food delivery industry, which counts Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Menulog among its largest players, have come into focus in recent months after a number of riders died on the job. Earlier this week, a Senate Select Committee on Job Security said the current arrangements, conditions and pay rates for gig economy workers in Australia are not acceptable.