The amount of people working for gig economy platforms more than doubled in the five years up to 2021, and the numbers are growing every year. Yet most gig workers don’t have access to basic protections like paid leave or insurance. 

As the platform economy industry grows, delivery logistics platform Ryde is trailblazing a new path by offering its workers the same kind of protections and benefits as they’d find in traditional employment, as well as industry-leading pay. And it’s working. Since partnering with Collective Benefits to offer its workers (or ‘riders’) benefits, Ryde has seen an 80% increase in retention. This statistic speaks to the way in which flexible workers are increasingly demanding the same security as those in other types of employment. Case in point: in this study, 90% of flexible workers said they would choose a job with benefits or protections over one with higher pay. 

Of course, as the cost of living crisis deepens, the vulnerabilities of flexible workers are thrown into even sharper relief. Nine in 10 people have seen their cost of living increase in June 2022 – about half are spending less on food, fuel and non-essential travel because of this. Flexible workers are likely to be one of the demographics to feel this most acutely. 

The Ryde and Collective Benefits partnership not only helps riders feel more secure with things like financial support services, but also helps them cut down their daily spending with discounts at major supermarkets, brands, high street coffee shops and much more. 

A rider-first mentality – it makes all the difference

Ryde was built with a rider-first mentality, so it makes sense the company is one of the first in the delivery logistics space to offer benefits and protections to its workers.

The programme works on a tiered system, where riders can unlock new benefits and protections based on their productivity and performance. Once they reach the top tier, ‘Gold’, they can access a full range of benefits including:

Bespoke insurance created for riders

Riders can access a range of insurance covers to keep them protected against accident, injury, and more:

• Accident and sickness insurance (including permanent disablement and accidental death)

• Compassionate and Family Leave

Mental, Physical and Financial support

Riders can access a range of benefits that support their mental, physical and financial wellbeing, including:

• Mental health support: 24/7 emotional support, expert advice and counselling

• Digital GP

• Digital physiotherapy 

• Financial wellbeing support services

Savings on food, fuel, technology and more

Riders can enjoy regular savings on everyday products and services, from a quick coffee on the go, to their phone bill and food shops.

• Savings at major supermarkets

• Savings at tech stores

• Savings on experience days and eating out

Speaking about the partnership with Collective Benefits, Ryde’s Head of Rider Operations Brenna Campsie says:

“What we wanted more than anything was a partner that actually did their research on what it is the riders wanted, what they would benefit from, and what would make a meaningful contribution to their life.”

Focusing on worker wellbeing is good for business

One of the biggest challenges facing on-demand platforms is high staff turnover. As gig work becomes more popular, the competition among platforms to secure good workers is rife, yet these companies rely on having a loyal workforce to operate efficiently. All the evidence points to the fact that offering benefits and protections to workers is a very effective way of standing out from the crowd in this respect. 

“We want to be the company that supports [our riders] in everything that they do and that advocates for them when they’re out on the streets,” Brenna says. “Collective really helps us achieve that, whether it’s a hot coffee on a cold night or getting that paid time off, it’s something that we so often take advantage of as full-time employees.” 

Ryde hasn’t just started to consider flexible worker well-being – the entire business was built off the back of it as a principle. Co-founders Duncan Mitchell and Tom Nimmo started out with a rider-first vision after seeing that the courier landscape needed improving dramatically during the pandemic delivery boom. As well as offering an innovative benefits programme to its riders, Ryde also provides industry-leading pay and uses technology to optimise the rider experience in other ways too. For example, they take a shift-based approach to on-demand delivery so that riders can work more efficiently and enjoy greater job security.

Speaking about the future of working with Collective Benefits, Brenna says: “Broadly I see three main issues that we’ll be tackling together – giving riders better access to pay, support, and benefits [...] and Collective really feeds into all three of those. Looking forward, we know that there’s a lot to learn about this industry and there’s a lot to learn about what riders want, and we’re super excited to be on that journey together.” 

So are we 😌.

‍Find out about Ryde >

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