Food Courier Insurance
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Which fast food delivery company should you work for?

If you look on the job review websites you will get the usual mixture of people saying how incredibly good particular companies are, and others saying how dreadful they are. You have to read between the lines a little; some people are never happy no matter what they are given.

Generally speaking the type of work is the same; you let them know when you are available for work, they send you details of where to collect food from, and then where to deliver it to. Usually they try to just give you deliveries within a three-mile radius of your home or base, but if it is further than that you usually get paid extra. There are subtle differences between the companies though.

Uber Eats

Where benefits are concerned Uber Eats comes bottom of the class.

To work for them you will have to be over 18, and if you are going to be using a scooter or motorbike you will need a CBT certificate.

You will have to provide your own transport, and smart phone. As well as that though, if you are on two wheels you will need to have a kit pack consisting of waterproof trousers and a jacket, adequate head protection, a battery pack, a mobile phone mount, and a water resistant, insulated bag. you can buy these from Uber; at the time of writing a price of £91.50 was quoted but this does not cover the cost of delivery.

Alternatively you could get your own kit but it would have to be of a good smart appearance and comply with their standards.

You may want to also buy additional safety equipment; they provide an optional pack consisting of polarised sunglasses, reflective armbands and a carbon filter antipollution mask. These will set you back by about another £25 plus delivery charges. if you are cycling you will need to have a bicycle helmet; they can provide one for around £15.

Against that, however, drivers for Uber Eats claim to earn more than the average for the industry. This could be because they are not as active at recruiting drivers as their competitors, which means more work available for those that they have got.

Deliveroo

Deliveroo are a little more generous. Although again you will need to provide your own transport and mobile phone (and of course the all-important food delivery driver insurance) they will provide cyclists with a reflective jacket, phone mount, insulated backpack and a small thermal bag. Scooter riders get a reflective jacket, insulated backpack and phone mount, and if you deliver using your car you get a phone mount and two thermal bags.

It isn't necessary to wear Deliveroo kit whilst you're out on a delivery; you can buy your own if you wish provided that it meets their safety standards.

One thing that Deliveroo do provide that the rest don't is accident and public liability insurance. Whilst they will not pay for food delivery insurance they will provide cover, whilst you are working for them, to protect you against any claims other people make against you if you are responsible for an accident other than a motoring one.

Their accident insurance helps you with income support if you are unable to work because of an accident, and their policy does provide other benefits covering problems such as dental treatment, hospital stays, disablement et cetera, but again this only covers for accidents whilst you are on a delivery and 'off vehicle'; in other words you would have to rely upon your own insurance if you had an accident on your scooter, moped, motorbike or car.

Just Eat

Just Eat is a relative newcomer but they have massive financial backing and they are far and away the biggest food delivery company in Britain. This very size can be a problem however; there are numerous complaints online about their drivers not being able to get as much work as they would like because the company has too many of them on the road.

They do have salaried jobs and they are planning to increase the number of these. Salaried employees get the usual benefits of holiday and sick pay, as well as a guaranteed hourly rate. They can provide free E bikes and mopeds, and can even pay for the dreaded food delivery insurance for their salaried employees only. These salaried positions are few in number at the moment.

The overwhelming majority of their drivers are self-employed. These people are expected to provide their own kit including a reliable means of transport, smart phone, a charger and a waterproof thermal bag to carry the food in. If you cannot find a source of decent equipment yourself you can buy it from Just Eat.

Working for more than one company

Unless you agree a contract to the contrary you would be free to work for whoever you wished, whenever you wished. You could then arrange to deliver for all three of these companies; that would allow you to juggle your options, depending on which companies were likely to be quiet or busy at particular times, but you would not be able to login to more than one company at a time. There are those that do so in order to try to maximise their earnings but these almost inevitably get found out quickly when they make too many excuses for not being able to complete a pickup and delivery quickly.

Other expenses

Do bear in mind that as a self-employed delivery driver you will get an allowance towards your fuel costs but you will still have to pay for any repairs or wear and tear on your vehicle. You should always remember, also, that eventually you should pay tax on all your earnings unless it comes in below limits; so if you make good money you should put some away for the day when the taxman comes knocking!

Don't forget that before you can even apply for a position with any of these companies you will need to have food delivery insurance; click here now to compare quotations.