Food delivery giant Just Eat says it wants to create more than 500 courier jobs in Nottingham, under a new model it is launching.
It says it will be taking on couriers to work remotely or from a central hub in New Basford.
Nottingham is the sixth city in the 海角视频 where the business is offering the new model, following its launch in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Cambridge and Liverpool. So far, it said 6,000 new jobs have been created.
It said all contracted couriers would be entitled to hourly pay, the minimum living wage, pension contributions and certain statutory benefits including holiday pay and sick pay.
Couriers would also be covered by the relevant insurance and provided with e-bikes for launch, helping to reduce takeaway delivery contribution to 海角视频 emission levels.
Andrew Kenny, Just Eat 海角视频 managing director, said: “We recognise our responsibility to provide couriers with the best possible opportunities and we’re delighted that more than 6,000 jobs have already been created as part of this model.
"We’ve reached this milestone significantly ahead of schedule and, we’re excited to now be rolling this out to Nottingham, creating more than 500 roles over the next year.
"We believe giving couriers access to the benefits and security associated with a model like this is the right thing to do and we’re hugely ambitious to grow this further out across the 海角视频.”
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It comes after the number of orders placed on Just Eat in the 海角视频 soared by 58 million in the first six months of 2021 to 135 million compared with a year earlier.
Households placed orders 3.2 times a month on average – up from 2.5 times a month during the first half of 2020 as the pandemic hit.
But a heavy period of promotions to win over new customers and increase market share took its toll.
The company slumped to a 71 million euro (£60.6 million) underlying pre-tax loss in the 海角视频 compared with a 127 million euro (£108 million) profit in the same period a year ago.
In London, Just Eat said it also saw a 10% increase in its market share following a major investment programme as the delivery market heated up while restaurants were shut.
More restaurants are also using Just Eat’s own riders, some of whom were recently offered worker status rather than the industry’s preferred gig-economy contracts, to make deliveries rather than their own staff.
Just Eat deliveries jumped 700% during the period and tend to be more profitable to the business, as it can usually charge higher premium for drop-offs by their own couriers rather than just acting as an ordering platform.