Lush and Gymshark top list of retailers accused of hiring young Christmas staff without rights

Urban Outfitters, Lush, Gymshark and Uniqlo were among the host of retail names singled out for recruiting “freelance” shop assistants through gig apps during the festive period, according to The Observer.

The gig apps – such as YoungOnes and Temper, have thousands of UK-based users and are being promoted by young influencers with hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

“This is a worrying new development,” said Tim Sharp, senior policy officer for employment rights at the TUC.

“It would seem absurd to most people that someone can do a job like working in a shop and not be entitled to basic legal protections. There is a big question mark over the employment status of these supposed freelancers.”

Traditionally, retailers would have looked to agencies to cope with increased footfall over the busy festive period. Temporary employees hired in this manner would be entitled to holiday pay, the national minimum wage and rest breaks.

However, retailers are now looking to hire gig workers, who are not covered by the majority of employment laws.

The Observer said last week, Urban Outfitters posted an advert on YoungOnes for “friendly young people” to work as freelance sales assistants in Westfield Stratford, Marble Arch, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

While the roles were offered at £12 an hour, above the minimum wage, those applying through the app would have to reapply each day for new shifts.

Gymshark is looking for 30 freelance shop assistants for its London store, while cosmetics giant Lush and Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo have also posted looking for gig workers during the Golden Quarter.

The TUC warned that these freelancer apps won’t be covered by Labour’s forthcoming employment rights legislation and could be exploited by more businesses in the future.

“It is worrying that at the very moment, we’re going to see far stronger employment rights, and some operators are coming in and seemingly offering employers a way around both existing and new legal protections,” said TUC’s Sharp.