Amazon looking for Flex drivers in Birmingham
Amazon is looking to take on freelance drivers who can deliver packages in the Birmingham area. A notice posted on the website in June is inviting applications with the words: “Deliver packages for Amazon in Birmingham! Earn £13-£15/hr including tips*, delivering packages for Amazon. All you need is a vehicle, an Android phone, and some free time. This is a great opportunity to be your own boss: deliver when you want and make some extra cash.”
Later on in the notice Amazon fleshed out the details behind the asterisk: “*Earnings estimates are based on delivering a number of packages across an estimated length of time (referred to as a block). Actual time taken per delivery may vary, and therefore earnings per hour may vary. Amazon Flex Delivery Partners may receive tips for Prime Now deliveries.”
Working out exactly how much a self-employed courier can expect to earn tends to be a much-debated topic.
In the UK, the issue has heated up this week after The Guardian published an article which claimed that some self-employed drivers working for delivery companies were sometimes earning less than the living wage.
Frank Field, the Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Works and Pensions has also weighed into the debate, arguing that the government should review the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) criteria that cover how and when companies can classify people as self-employed or employees.
Drivers who want to joint the Flex programme area have been advised to sign up at: https://flex.amazon.co.uk. They have to pass a background check and “have or be willing to purchase business class 3 or commercial car insurance”.
