Just Eat has announced that it is recruiting 700 additional couriers as the country enters a period of Level 5 restrictions. The new couriers will support the anticipated growth in online ordering in the period ahead, enabling restaurant owners across the country to deliver their food to more people, in more areas. The demand for couriers of late is on another level with thousands of jobs with the festive season approaching and big logistics firms already looking for hundreds of staff.
The investment in couriers is one of a package of measures developed to support the distressed restaurant sector and to help bring more food to more people throughout the country. Just Eat has also announced that this growing fleet will service expanded delivery areas in some key urban locations where independent restaurants have been most impacted by the latest set of restrictions. In addition, all restaurants that sign up to the platform in the next 2 weeks will enjoy a period of waived commission for their first 30 days on the platform.
The investments announced today build on a series of supports worth €1 million delivered in immediate response to the health crisis over the summer months. The focus by Just Eat has been on helping the traditional, local independent restaurant that wouldn’t previously have offered a delivery service to get online. While not replacing their traditional business model and sit-in offering, it does allow them to stay connected to customers and maintains some proportion of revenue during the period of forced closure.
Focused on reducing costs for those most at risk within the sector, Just Eat continues to help its new and existing restaurant partner base to trade efficiently during these difficult times with real-time business intelligence data providing valuable insights on menu offerings, opening times and geographic range.
Commenting on the announcement Amanda Roche-Kelly, Just Eat Ireland Managing Director said; “2020 has been an incredibly challenging year for everyone, but few have been hit harder than our partners in the restaurant sector, with these latest restrictions bringing huge uncertainty and worry for so many local independent business owners right across Ireland. As the market leader in the food delivery sector, we are committed to supporting our partners in the sector through the crisis which is why we are launching this additional package of support measures.
“For those restaurants who haven’t previously offered a delivery option, or are new to the Just Eat platform, we’re delighted to be in a position to help them get online and remain trading while their sit-in or outdoor dining options remain closed. Through our investment in the recruitment of drivers we’re both expanding our delivery within those key urban areas most impacted, but also our capacity to service the growing demand from our customers – helping our restaurant partners to deliver their much loved food to more and more people during these hugely difficult times.”
Commenting specifically on the plan to recruit 700 couriers Ms Roche-Kelly said: “We are delighted to be in a position to build our courier network at a time when many people have had to temporarily or permanently leave their jobs. We anticipate increased demand during the lockdown period and want to ramp up in order to ensure that we capture all those orders on behalf of our restaurant partners. With the additional fleet we can service more restaurants in more areas – reaching more hungry consumers.
“Anyone who is keen to join the Just Eat courier network as an independent contractor is encouraged to apply at https://couriers.just-eat.ie/application. We look forward to hearing from them.”
Effective immediately, Just Eat has also committed to an extension of the 14-day Courier Relief Payment for those who may become ill or need to self-isolate as a result of the virus. Equivalent to two-thirds of a courier’s average weekly earnings from the past 6 weeks, this Courier Relief Payment can be claimed weekly in addition to the COVID-19 illness benefit made available by the government for workers unable to make a living as a result of the virus.
Just Eat’s highest priority throughout this crisis is to protect the couriers it works with, its customers and restaurant partners. To date, Just Eat Takeaway.com has spent more than €30 million in support for restaurants worldwide and approximately €6 million in support for healthcare workers. The company will continue to explore introducing further support measures in the future, ensuring that its delivery courier network remains open and fully operational.
For more information please visit https://www.justeattakeaway.com/.