Online giant Amazon is hiring freelance drivers who can deliver their packages in and around the Birmingham area.

A notice posted on the website in June is inviting applications with the words: “Deliver packages for Amazon in Birmingham! Earn £13-£15/hr including tips*, delivering packages for Amazon. All you need is a vehicle, an Android phone, and some free time. This is a great opportunity to be your own boss: deliver when you want and make some extra cash.”

Later on in the notice Amazon fleshed out the details behind the asterisk: “*Earnings estimates are based on delivering a number of packages across an estimated length of time (referred to as a block). Actual time taken per delivery may vary, and therefore earnings per hour may vary. Amazon Flex Delivery Partners may receive tips for Prime Now deliveries.”

As Apex Insight showed earlier this week, it is not easy to work out exactly what freelance delivery drivers can earn from day to day. We reported on a Guardian newspaper article that some self employed drivers working for delivery companies are often earning less than the Living Wage.

Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Work and Pensions Frank Field has got stuck into the debate. He argued that the government should review the HMRC criteria that deal with how and when businesses can classify people as either self employed or employees. This is a somewhat grey area that is sometimes exploited by sharp business practices.

Drivers who want to joint the Flex programme area have been advised to sign up at: https://flex.amazon.co.uk.  They have to pass a background check and “have or be willing to purchase business class 3 or commercial car insurance”.