Martijn De Lange, CEO at Hermes UK, said:

This is an extraordinary situation and we have taken the decision to help support our couriers financially if they need help and also ensure we are doing everything we can to prevent the spread of the virus. It is simply the right thing to do and I hope that other organisations will follow our lead.

Hermes is supporting rights for the self-employed as demonstrated by its introduction of the ‘Self-Employed Plus’ (SE+) option, which attracts a number of benefits such as holiday pay and is the first of its kind in any sector. The deal is backed by the GMB Trade Union under a partnership agreement which saw Hermes provide recognition of the GMB’s representation of any of its circa 15,000 self-employed couriers that choose to join the Union.