Evri couriers have hit out at the delivery company, claiming that the pay is "awful" and that they've been left feeling "like slaves".
Delivery drivers at a depot in Manchester claimed to have had their rounds "slashed" by the company and that they've been left jumping through hoops "for the sake of 50p" a parcel.
Evri has denied that, and said that thitsir workers earn in excess of minimum wage after expenses.
But drivers who spoke anonymously to Manchester Evening News have told of being left in the "rain and cold" without being paid despite having "grafted hard" over Christmas to help clear a backlog of parcels.
Craig, which isn't his real name, started working for the firm when it was Hermes, but said the job has got "progressively worse".
The self-employed courier would typically make around £1,000 a month, but said that changes in packaging sizes have reduced his income.
"For a standard parcel you might get 60p but now they've changed the sizing so you could have a massive Dunelm parcel which is huge but doesn't really weigh that much that's put down as a packet," he said.
While Evri said that their drivers are able to choose how many parcels they deliver and the time frame, Craig claims he has to work six days a week to keep his round.
He also claimed that drivers only get paid for the packages they deliver, and that's why they're often left in unusual places.
He added: "That's why you see drivers delivering them wherever they can, otherwise you're just losing money."
Evri said that after fuel costs spiked, it introduced an additional payment. But Craig claimed that for him, it only amounted to an extra £8 a month.
He also said that drivers often spend the first few hours of their shift "exposed to the elements" while they're forced to load their cars without shelter and don't get paid for it.
"By the time you've sorted the parcels you've been there for two hours without getting paid, getting absolutely soaked if it's raining or standing in the boiling sunshine," he said.
Evri said that drivers do have access to rain shelters, but other workers disputed that.
Another driver, whose name has been changed to Richard, has worked for Evri for several years and said it's the "worst job he's ever had".
Detailing a similar experience to Craig, he said: "Everyone is always just thinking 'oh my parcel is late' but it's not that simple. We have to manually load our car and then walk around the houses come rain or shine.
"The pay is awful. We have to stand in the rain and cold for 40 minutes every morning sorting the parcels without getting paid. It's the worst job I've ever done in my life but there is nothing else out there for us."
Richard added: "The hoops we have to jump through for the sake of 50p is a lot. If I could get a job somewhere else I would love to but there is nothing else out there.
"I earn about £800 a month but that's before petrol and my phone bill and all the other bills I have to pay. Sometimes it feels like we are slaves. The environment, treatment, and pay is awful."
A third courier who works at the Manchester depot accused the company of "squeezing" money out of their drivers.
He said: "My gripe is that they are always penny-pinching with the parcels. They keep saying a standard parcel is actually a packet and we are not getting paid what we should for it.
"At the depot, we are left completely to the elements. If it's raining we are just open to the elements and all the parcels get wet. Evri doesn't care about us, it's just like it or lump it."
He added: "They advertise it as a job to suit your lifestyle but you end up just doing what suits them. If you are young and you have lots of bills to pay you'd have to work very long hours to earn enough."
The claims from the drivers come shortly after workers at a unit in South Manchester were involved in a stand-off with bosses.
A number of drivers refused to collect parcels in response to changes to their routes, which they said would affect their earnings.
Addressing their drivers' claims, a spokesperson for Evri said: "We are unable to respond to anonymous allegations about specific disputes or even verify that these individuals work for Evri without their details.
"However, we can confirm that as our couriers are self-employed, they are able to choose the number of parcels they deliver and the time frame they do it."
They added: "All our couriers earn in excess of the minimum wage after expenses such as fuel costs (the average is over £15 an hour) and this includes time for collection and redelivery. This is independently audited by the GMB Union.
"When fuel costs spiked we introduced an additional payment which was tailored for round types – it is worth noting that 2/3s of our rounds are less than 1sq mile and the average courier will do 15 or less miles per day.
"All parcels are sorted into cages inside the depots and then loaded into vehicles outside with access to rain shelters."
