Gig workers win employment status recognition after delivery platform Zeek accused of withholding pay
Hong Kong Free Press
Delivery platform Zeek has been ordered to pay six of its employees outstanding wages, payment in lieu of notice, annual leave, and legal costs, following a Labour Tribunal ruling that the six couriers were indeed employed by the delivery platform.
Between them, the six workers sought wage arrears ranging from HK$28,166 to HK$148,471, payment in lieu of notice ranging from HK$49,546 to HK$61,276, paid annual leave of HK$23,547 for one claimant, paid statutory holidays worth HK$29,792, and HK$5,000 in legal costs for two claimants.
The tribunal’s ruling affirmed Zeek’s employment of the six, enabling them to enjoy legal labour protections, according to a statement issued last Monday by the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee’s Riders’ Rights Concern Group.
The contention over employment status stemmed from the fact that gig workers, such as delivery riders for Zeek or Deliveroo, are classified as neither self-employed or employed by the company under existing legislation, but they generally do not enjoy legal protection or benefits. The concern group describes the working relationship as “between employment and self-employment.”
“The Labour Tribunal’s ruling affirms the employment relationship between Zeek and the six employees and enables the workers to enjoy legal labour protection. Moreover, the Tribunal’s understanding and interpretation of the relationship between platform companies and platform workers also make significant impacts about the rights of platform workers in Hong Kong,” the group’s statement read.
The ruling came months after the six workers claimed that they were owed more than HK$100,000, with one saying that she had only been paid HK$4,000 over a two-month period.
The concern group cited four points considered by the tribunal that indicated an employment relationship between Zeek and the six claimants, namely: that Zeek’s platform program software, which serves as the most crucial part of the system, “enhances an employment relationship”; that the company exercises control over workers; that the company does not allow employees to delegate or subcontract work; and that workers’ pay depends on the volume of work.
The concern group said in its statement that the tribunal’s understanding of the relationship between “platform companies” such as Zeek and gig workers “can serve as an important reference for the government in its legislation and policymaking.”
The group also called on the government to speed up legislation and policymaking in order to provide comprehensive legal protection to platform workers, including sick leave, paid leave, and wage protection, compensation for work injuries as stipulated under the Employees Compensation Ordinance, and protection under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance.
It also compared labour conditions for Hong Kong gig workers to a European Parliament resolution this February designating all digital platform workers as full employees.
HKFP has reached out to Zeek for comment.
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