Amazon caught up in claims over under-paid drivers

Amazon has become the latest company to be caught up in UK media reports about delivery drivers allegedly being paid below the minimum wage. On its news website today (14 November), the BBC has posted a report which claims that some drivers working for agencies handling deliveries on behalf of Amazon work “illegally” long hours and are paid the equivalent of an hourly rate below the national minimum wage of £7.20.

The news story draws on the experience of an under-cover BBC reporter who worked for two weeks for an agency based in the south west of England.

The report also allegedly that drivers felt under pressure to break speed limits in order to make their daily delivery schedules.

Amazon said it was committed to ensuring drivers drive safely and legally, and are “fairly compensated”.

As previously reported, there have been many recent articles in the UK media arguing that the working conditions for delivery drivers  – and especially those in the “crowdsourced” sector – should be subject to more review.