How Hermes couriers shoulder insecurity of internet shopping boom

The parcel giant's couriers complain of low pay, no employment rights and the threat of losing their work at short notice

When a courier rings your doorbell with the latest delivery from the virtual high street, there's a good chance they work for Hermes, the German-owned delivery giant that is on course to deliver more than a quarter of a billion parcels to British households this year. Such is the UK consumer's appetite for online shopping, Hermes' parcel load is increasing by as much as 15% a year.

Hermes couriers, alongside workers at the Royal Mail's ParcelForce and other companies such as Yodel, are the footsoldiers of the internet shopping boom. But while most of ParcelForce's deliverers earn an hourly wage with sick pay and paid holiday, every one of Hermes' 10,500 couriers is self-employed. They are paid per parcel - 48p is common, but it can be more. Yodel, with 8,000 couriers, operates a similar system.