After a union voiced concerns about job rights, Uniqlo, Lush, and Gymshark stopped utilising independent retail workers that were employed using apps like YoungOnes and Temper.
Concerned that the retailers were losing out on important job rights, the Trades Union Congress wrote to their CEOs requesting that they cease hiring independent retail employees, according to reports.
The letter was sent at the same time that it was made public last month that some stores had used gig economy apps, which were pushed by internet influencers, to hire temporary holiday workers.
The TUC expressed concern that the workers, who are considered self-employed, may be denied fundamental rights such as sick pay, holiday pay, the legal minimum wage, and protection from wrongful termination, and described the increase in the usage of freelancer apps as “extremely worrying.”
According to Uniqlo, it had stopped utilising such methods and had only employed Temper to hire employees to augment its full-time workers.
