It can be hard to find workers in any business environment, and that’s even more true with a strong economy and low unemployment But it’s not just big corporations looking for top-dollar professionals that are feeling the pinch; companies whose workers are part-time, temporary, and largely independent need to be careful of how they treat their staff.
New Pay Policy Hurts
Recently, Instacart, a company that offers grocery delivery services through a Web application, instituted a new pay policy that resulted in some pushback from employees.
As Fortune recently reported, “Instacart is changing a controversial policy on how it pays workers who pick and deliver grocery orders, after protests over a pay system instituted last fall.”
The issue: The company was docking employees’ pay when they received a certain amount in tips. Employees, rightfully so, felt that they should receive their pay and the tips they earned through the service they provided.
Backing Down
In response to the backlash, San Francisco-based Instacart will now give workers the full tips from customers, stop deducting portions of gratuities from fees the company pays workers, and also offer back pay.
“The retreat illustrates a delicate balance gig-economy startups struggle to maintain between keeping prices low for customers and paying their workers fairly,” reports Fortune. “Fees associated with orders through food delivery apps are often opaque. Small changes to policies can have outsize effects on how much workers take home.”
This story also illustrates another important point: The impact of the media on a company’s image with respect to its employees can be extremely powerful, and it may be even more pronounced when dealing with the gig economy.
That’s because as noted, these workers are often part-time, temporary, and fairly independent. It may be easier for someone to stop driving for Uber in favor of Lyft, for example, than it would be to quit a job at one insurance company and relocate to another.
Employers have to be careful when enacting policies that may be harmful to employees. There are plenty of recent examples of word getting around regarding disrespect, leading to headline news and a tarnished employer reputation. In a tight labor market, employees have options, but unfortunately, employers may not.