The couriers, who work for Stuart, a company that supplies drivers to some of Britain’s biggest restaurant and retail names, told the Observer they were fired in pro-forma emails after being misplaced by the GPS system or deviating from impossible or dangerous routes. . The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) claims there are dozens of couriers for Stewart in cities across the country, from Exeter to Leeds, who have lost their jobs this way. Those who spoke to the Observer described their hurt by this treatment and their stress over their ability to pay rent, bills and basic expenses as the cost of living continues to rise. Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB, said the cases were “among the most egregious examples of a gig economy increasingly pushing workers as far as possible and then simply dumping them without any accountability. “The decision to use this GPS system is about reducing costs for Stuart, but the implications for couriers are huge,” he suggested. “People are losing their livelihoods in an instant and those who are still working are putting their lives at risk.” Evidence shared with the Observer suggests Stuart brought his GPS system in-house as a cost-cutting measure and is aware of the problems. In a Twitter IM conversation shared with the Observer, a senior Stuart manager can be seen telling a courier: “Stuart has an internal built-in routing service and it’s not great. We were using directions on Google Maps, but they were increasing the price by 10 times.” When the courier replies “people get fired because they’re supposed to be off schedule and you just said it’s wrong,” the manager acknowledges, “it’s not perfect yeah [sic].” Until May, Adnan Odawa, 35, was working full-time for app-based Stuart, starting every day at McDonald’s in Sutton Coldfield. One Tuesday morning he took a 10-mile bike ride from his home in Birmingham as usual, pulling out his phone upon arrival to log into the app as he has for the past three years. But that morning, he had a new message: his account had been terminated and his access to the platform had been blocked. In a pro-forma email seen by the Observer, Stuart told Odawa that several of his deliveries had been “marked for severe delays caused by excessive detours,” including three order numbers listed in the email. Odawa didn’t recognize two of them, and the third involved a job where he had arrived on time and made the delivery, but, he says, the app’s GPS misplaced the address, causing him to drive almost a mile to the wrong location. to mark the task as complete. “I was shocked,” she said. “I thought, ‘If you have a problem with me for the first time in three years, you could at least text me and let me know.’ For Odawa, giving in to GPS was the only option. The app includes a chat feature for couriers to resolve shift issues, but when Odawa used it previously, he was left waiting for up to an hour without being able to reach a human. Screenshots shared with the Observer show couriers pleading their cases to the chatbot, which repeatedly replies: “Don’t worry, an agent will take it from here” and: “This is an automated message, please don’t answer” before asking them to to rate the conversation by clicking an emoji. After his employment was terminated, Odawa repeatedly emailed Stuart but received only standard emails in return stating that his request for reinstatement had been denied and the decision was final. Marshall said the IWGB had investigated 55 cases since March 2021 and that, in most cases, couriers had not had the opportunity to review the decision with human involvement. An online appeals form was introduced in late 2021 after a union campaign, but says terminations will only be considered when couriers can provide “objective proof” they were not at fault. Stuart can legally fire couriers without notice or reason as they are classified as independent contractors and not employees. Screenshots and photos shared with the Observer show a driver in Plymouth being driven into a construction site, with warning signs visible, and a driver in south-east London being driven onto a closed road. Others show a driver in east London being directed to break traffic rules by turning right despite a no right turn sign. Although less well-known than Deliveroo or Uber, Stuart – a subsidiary of parcels company DPD – is a leading player in the gig economy. It operates in more than 100 cities worldwide, mainly in the UK as a subcontractor to Just Eat in England and Wales. Just Eat declined to comment. Sandeep Salgotra, 36, worked full-time with Stuart in Leicester until he was sacked in April due to “GPS jamming and manipulation”. Before his dismissal, he claims he received several warnings about the matter, which he did not understand, as he could not find any problem with his GPS connection. When Stuart didn’t answer his questions, he says, he changed his network provider. When the warnings continued, he spent £1,500 on a new phone, but nothing changed. He eventually received a reply from Stuart, who was seen by the Observer, telling him: “You don’t need to worry about being labeled at this stage… All is well with your situation at the moment.” Two weeks later, he says, they broke up. “It was really painful and I’m struggling. I support my family as my wife is not working,” Salgotra said. “I have never done anything wrong in my life. I don’t understand why Stewart is treating us like this.” Other couriers who spoke to the Observer after being terminated for routing and GPS reasons similarly described confusion about the reason for their terminations and frustration at the company’s refusal to respond to messages or engage in discussion. A courier says he sent several emails to Stuart explaining that his phone connection sometimes dropped in the rural area he delivered to, but got no response. An appeal he filed in February has so far gone unanswered, he says. Another courier received a termination email stating “GPS tampering” while in the hospital recovering from a car accident that occurred during the previous night’s shift. His subsequent emails, which included photos of his written-off motorcycle, went unanswered. Marshall said the sacked couriers were “considered beyond doubt to have acted fraudulently and denied a fair and proper process”. Many new couriers are recent immigrants working new to an area that needs the GPS system and are therefore vulnerable to its flaws, he points out. The union says the GPS issues are just one of many problems for Stuart’s couriers, some of whom are taking part in the gig economy’s longest strike over pay and conditions. Earlier in the strike, Stewart agreed to resolve an issue that resulted in the unfair termination of couriers whose insurance details were incorrectly recorded by the company. A Stuart spokesman said the company “takes the issue of courier boarding very seriously”, adding: “We cannot comment publicly on individual cases, but we only decide to off-board when we have substantial evidence to support our decision, without exceptions”. They added: “Stuart operates an appeals process which is followed in every case where an appeal is made.” For couriers, the effects of the terminations are profound. “I had to tell my kids we can’t go anywhere this year, we’ll just stay in England,” said Odawa, a father of three. “[Stuart] act like we’re nothing. they just stop answering and move on.”
