A debate over courier pay has raised a much bigger question for the UK delivery industry: can the economics of low-cost parcel delivery continue to work for the people actually making the deliveries?
A recent Logistics & Transport Network discussion generated a substantial response from drivers, former couriers, customers and transport professionals after highlighting reports of extremely low per-parcel payment rates.
One contributor described a typical courier day beginning at a depot around 5am or 6am, with time spent sorting and loading parcels before travelling to the delivery area. On an example workload of around 120 parcels at £1 per parcel, they estimated that a driver could spend 11 or 12 hours working once preparation, deliveries, collections and the return to depot were included.
That would produce gross earnings of only around £10 to £11 per hour before considering many of the costs that can accompany self-employed delivery work.
Another former courier said he lasted only one day working for Hermes, now Evri, after concluding that fuel costs were consuming close to what he was earning. Other contributors raised the additional impact of rising fuel prices, insurance and vehicle costs on the viability of courier work.
The issue becomes particularly important when headline per-drop rates are considered without the wider working day.
A courier may be paid for delivering the parcel, but the working process can also include travelling to the depot, waiting, loading the vehicle, organising the route, unsuccessful delivery attempts, collections and returning undelivered items.
One contributor recalled being paid 67p per delivery for Littlewoods during the 1990s, despite being expected to attempt some deliveries as many as three times without receiving the payment three times.
There was also an important challenge to the debate. A contributor familiar with the French courier market questioned whether UK payment structures might include fixed route payments in addition to per-parcel rates, arguing that the complete contractual structure needs to be understood before comparing individual delivery rates.
Evri has previously disputed criticism of its courier earnings, and the original discussion noted the company’s position that its couriers earn above the National Living Wage.
But the response from drivers raises a wider industry issue. For parcel operators, retailers and consumers, the important figure may no longer be simply the price of delivering a parcel. It is whether enough money remains in the system for the person at the end of the supply chain to deliver it sustainably.