Uniqlo, Gymshark and Lush Stop Hiring UK Workers via Gig Economy Apps

Lush, Uniqlo and Gymshark have stopped using freelance retail workers hired through apps such as YoungOnes and Temper, after unions criticised the gig economy companies.

The TUC wrote to the retailers urging them to stop using freelance retail workers amid concerns they were missing out on significant employment rights.

Some retailers recruited temporary shop assistants for the busy festive period through gig economy apps, including YoungOnes and Temper, which are promoted by online influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers, as first revealed by the Observer last month.

The trade union body said in the letter to retailers, seen by The Guardian, that the rise in the use of freelancer apps by retailers was “extremely worrying.”

Kate Bell, the assistant general secretary of the trade union group, wrote to the chief executives of the three retailers: “We urge you to end this practice immediately and ensure that all your workers receive the rights and protections that they deserve as directly employed or agency workers. Trade unions and the workers we represent will fight to ensure that this practice is driven out of the retail sector.”

The TUC said that, as a result of the workers being classed as self-employed, it was concerned they were at risk of being denied vital rights including the legal minimum wage, sick pay, ⁠holiday pay, rest breaks and ⁠protection from unfair dismissal.

Bell wrote: “Anyone looking at this arrangement from outside would consider it laughable that the person serving them was a self-employed worker akin to a visiting tradesman, rather than the permanent or temporary worker for your business.”

Uniqlo said it only briefly used the Temper app to hire workers to supplement its full-time team and had now ceased hiring people via such systems.

The Japanese-owned fashion retailer said: “Following a brief trial period with Temper, Uniqlo no longer sources freelance workers for temporary store-based roles. We instead recruit for our temporary and permanent positions directly or through other channels to ensure all our staff are eligible for applicable employment benefits. We are committed to treating our employees fairly, while maintaining our high service standards.”

Lush, which is understood to have hired fewer than six people through the apps for a short period, said: “This was the first and only time that staff have been recruited this way and there are no plans to use this method in the future.”

Gymshark declined to comment but is also understood to have ceased using the apps for recruitment in the light of concerns.

By Sarah Butler

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