Discussion in cycle logistic circles is that the Deliveroo rates may be below National Minimum Wage, and the claim that the riders are self employed could be challenged as the operator is through the way the service is presented to the user creating the impression that delivery is made by a person who to all intent, appears to be working as an employee or agent of Deliveroo. Any forumites up to speed on employment law and implied contracts?
There appears to be no design consideration on safety or stability of the carrying systems nor any corporate due diligence to ensure these systems are used in a correct and safe manner. I'm not sure about the weights that are carried in the backpack boxes, but their crude harness means that the weight is very poorly loaded on the body, and far from stable. The size of the pack is such that I suspect the limits for a load carried on the back set out in the HSC Manual Handling Regulations may be exceeded in certain conditions.
If there is an incident then I suspect that Deliveroo will have a section 2 liability for any harm to their pseudo-employee and through the chain of command will be the principal client for any section 3 action when harm is caused to a member of the public.
I'll need to check back the references but Domino's Pizza quietly dropped their "Delivery within 30 minutes or it's on us" following 2 multi million $ actions when their freelance drivers crashed cars attempting to deliver to a time pressured schedule. Not being the employer or direct operator did not stop the law placing the liability squarely at the door of the principal party in the causal action.
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