Addison Lee manager filmed refusing courier job because he fought for workers' rights

Exclusive: Union to take action over 'blacklisting' as firm insists it treats contractors fairly

A manager at Addison Lee has been filmed refusing a courier a job because he took another firm to court over workers’ rights, in the latest controversy to hit the “gig economy”.

Andrew Boxer, 60, had already been offered a job at the taxi giant’s courier arm when staff discovered he had won a separate legal battle over paid holidays and minimum wage. The courier started recording the exchange at Addison Lee’s offices after being questioned over the case during his induction last month.

In footage seen by The Independent, the head of the firm’s courier department told Mr Boxer it would be “insensitive” to hire him while fighting another employment tribunal.

“At least we’re being honest,” Kevin Valentine said. “We’ll probably get ridiculed in the press … I think it’s insensitive at this time.”

The manager accused Mr Boxer of having an “ulterior motive” in seeking work, adding: “Please be careful where you’re going, be very careful.”

After claiming that Addison Lee offers couriers legally required rights, he admitted that the company is bracing to lose an ongoing employment tribunal bought by cycle courier Chris Gascoigne. “We’re preparing for it now,” he said. “Your union is going to win.”

Addison Lee is best-known for its car service but also runs a courier arm

Mr Valentine denied blacklisting Mr Boxer but the courier told The Independent he was shocked to be refused over an unrelated case.

“I needed the money, I needed the work,” he said, describing how he had already exchanged contracts when Addison Lee turned him away. “I didn’t want to sign on [for benefits], I wanted to get out there and make my living like everyone else. It was disappointing.”

Mr Boxer said Addison Lee appeared to be “paranoid” amid an increasing number of legal cases brought by Uber drivers, couriers and other workers in the so-called gig economy who are demanding basic rights.

“I hope this is the beginning of a transformation of workers’ rights,” he said. “It has to happen but it needs political will. It’s not just up to us, it’s up to politicians to get behind us and enforce the law.”

Mr Boxer has worked as a cycle courier intermittently for 45 years while working in other jobs including acting, which saw him appear in an episode of Doctor Who.

He said he has seen earnings fall from the equivalent of £600 a week in the 1980s to less than £400 today, attributing it to firms oversupplying couriers to maintain a quick service.

Earlier this year, Mr Boxer won a separate employment tribunal against Excel couriers, but the firm was taken over by City Sprint and the ruling was not honoured under a new contract as the firm said it did not apply to them.

He is being supported by the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which says it will take legal action against Addison Lee for “trade union victimisation and blacklisting”.

General secretary Jason Moyer-Lee said companies “know they are depriving people of rights”. “What we’ve seen in this unguarded moment [from Addison Lee] is that they know they are on the wrong side of the law, or they wouldn’t know we’re going to win,” he added.

“The problem isn’t that companies are confused by the law, they are simply choosing not to obey it because there are so few consequences of doing so.”

Dr Moyer-Lee accused companies of attempting to cut staff costs by refusing to recognise couriers as workers, instead classing them as independent contractors.

But after high-profile losses by Uber and other firms, he warned that “they’re going to end up paying both, just one at a time”, adding: “We’d like companies to obey the law on their own initiative.”

While Addison Lee and Uber are appealing ongoing tribunals, there are signs that others may be starting to changes their practices.

Deliveroo is changing its policy following an employment tribunal (Getty)

Deliveroo, whose riders were ruled self-employed in a recent case, announced that it would be offering the first sickness and accident insurance available to on-demand food delivery riders in the UK. It means Deliveroo riders can claim 75 per cent of their average weekly income for up to 26 weeks if they are unable to work due to illness or injury, the company said on Wednesday, while having access to public liability insurance.

In July, the Taylor Review recommended that all workers for similar firms should be classified as dependent contractors with extra benefits, warning that companies could not transfer all risk on to their shoulders.

Dave Smith, secretary of the Blacklist Support Group, said Mr Boxer’s treatment was “just one example of victimisation against workers prepared to stand up for the most basic entitlements”.

He added: “Blacklisting in construction is a national scandal, but the practice is rife across the entire economy and increasingly among precarious workers. The absence of legal protection means the bosses get away with treating workers like disposable commodities rather than human beings. It's time to change the law.“

The case was revealed amid a nationwide day of action on construction blacklisting, seeing members of the Unite union lobbying Parliament and holding protests. It is already taking action in the High Court on behalf of workers whose names were kept on a 3,000-strong list drawn up by the Consulting Association for union activism or raising health and safety issues.

Addison Lee, which is best-known as Europe’s biggest executive car service, said it was reviewing the meeting with Mr Boxer from 9 November. “Addison Lee is committed to fair and respectful treatment of all its contractors,” a spokesperson said. “Mr Boxer has never made a formal complaint to us. We are now reviewing the matter, and it would be wrong to comment further until that review is complete.”