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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Tom Wall

‘So immoral’: gig economy workers charged fee to get paid quicker

Retail assistants say they have to pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within a month.
Retail assistants say they have to pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within a month. Photograph: Terry Harris/Alamy

Retail assistants have accused a gig economy firm of “holding them to ransom” by making them pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within 30 days.

A new payment system brought in by YoungOnes, which supplies “freelance” retail assistants to many well-known high street stores, charges gig workers 4.8% of their earnings to be paid in one minute or 2.9% to be paid in three days. If they decline, they typically have to wait 30 days. Previously the workers were paid in three days, without a charge.

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