A COURIER working with Hermes has revealed why he quit after just two days on the job.
Matt Solomons delivered parcels from 16 – 18 December from a depot in Greenford, London for Deliveries247, a company contracted by Hermes.
The 23-year-old shared photos showing the volume of parcels he was expected to sort outside his vehicle, an activity which took him 45 minutes and for which he says he was not paid.
Another image shows other couriers engaged in the same activity, with customer’s parcels strewn across the damp ground before being “stuffed” into delivery vehicles.
Matt also shared a photo from inside the warehouse, where he says packages were “everywhere”.
Matt explained: “You take out your assigned round to your car, and you have to scan all these parcels and ideally order them so you can load up efficiently.
“This takes about 30-45 minutes if not more and all of this is unpaid.
“Each of those parcels is worth 50p and boxes are £1, so before you even deliver them you have to faff around sorting them.
“For me at least, it seemed like a lot of unpaid work, and you want to do it as quickly as possible or else you’re literally losing time and money.
“Plus obviously it’s not a great look when you have the parcels on the floor and you’re trying to stuff them in your car.”
Matt decided to share his images on social media on 29 December where the chaotic scenes shocked social media users.
One person replied saying: “Diabolical.”
Another added: “One of the worst companies I’ve dealt with.”
And another joked: “Is that my next parcel that’s gone missing?”
Matt also claimed that he was told he would not be paid for 20 parcels he delivered on his first day as this was classed as training, something that was not mentioned in his induction email.
He also claimed he felt pressured to take on more work, despite it being a freelance role.
Speaking today he added: “I found out that I wouldn’t be getting paid for any of the day before as the induction round was classified as ‘training’.
“Even though I delivered 20 parcels for them, some of them were for Hermes.
“This means that had I not refused to deliver another hours worth on the first day, that round would also have been unpaid.
“To me, they tried to cheat me into giving them free labour and that really sent me over.
“I didn’t care about losing money, it was more the principle of trying to take advantage of me like that.”
Following contact from the press, Deliveries247 has confirmed Matt will be paid for his training shift.
However, the former courier expressed doubt over their motivation, he said: “The woman who hired me said that this is the big topic at the depot right now.
“They didn’t like that I went public, rather than complaining internally, but I just wanted to share my experience.
“They says that I will get paid for the first day, but this contradicts what my direct manager said.”
A spokeswoman for Deliveries247 said: “Once basic training has finished, drivers are then given the option to go live delivering up to 20 Parcels max in which Matt had agreed to do so.
“At Deliveries247 we do not pressurise our drivers to do extra work, however, when Matt returned to the Depot, he was given the option to deliver more parcels.
“I have looked through our deliveries inbox and cannot find any email from Matt Solomons regarding his resignation.
“All parcels scanned and delivered under Matt Solomons driver number will be calculated, and payment will be made on Tuesday 12th January 2021 into the bank account he provided.
“I have already discussed this with Matt earlier today who sincerely apologised for his behaviour towards Hermes/Deliveries247 code of conduct and had agreed to remove the post from social media.”
However, Matt says he only apologised for the “distress” the post caused, and that it was removed against his will.
A spokeswoman for Hermes said: “Mr Solomons does not have a contract with Hermes, but he may have provided services for one of our self-employed couriers, who would be responsible for his payment and terms of business.
“We are unable to comment further on any dispute between two independent parties. “
