Uniqlo, Gymshark and Lush have stopped hiring through gig economy apps following union criticism

The TUC wrote to the brands urging them not to use apps like YoungOnes and Temper to hire predominantly younger freelance workers, due to concerns they were missing out on employment rights, The Guardian reported.

The trade body told retailers that the rise in the use of apps to hire freelancers was “extremely worrying” in the run-up to the busy Christmas period.

Kate Bell, the assistant general secretary of the TUC, wrote to the chief executives of the retailers: “We urge you to end this practice immediately and ensure that all your workers receive the rights and protections that they deserve as directly employed or agency workers.

“Trade unions and the workers we represent will fight to ensure that this practice is driven out of the retail sector.”

Bell added that TUC was concerned that due to these workers being classed as self-employed, they were being denied rights including the legal minimum wage, sick pay, holiday pay, rest breaks and protection from unfair dismissal.

“Anyone looking at this arrangement from outside would consider it laughable that the person serving them was a self-employed worker akin to a visiting tradesman, rather than the permanent or temporary worker for your business,” Bell said.

In a statement, Uniqlo said it only briefly used the Temper app to hire workers to supplement its full-time team and had stopped using it.

“Following a brief trial period with Temper, Uniqlo no longer sources freelance workers for temporary store-based roles. We instead recruit for our temporary and permanent positions directly or through other channels to ensure all our staff are eligible for applicable employment benefits,” the retailer said.

“We are committed to treating our employees fairly while maintaining our high service standards.”

Lush, which only hired around six freelancers through the app for a short period, said: “This was the first and only time that staff have been recruited this way and there are no plans to use this method in the future.”

Gymshark declined to comment but is understood to also have ceased hiring freelance staff via the apps.