Drivers delivering groceries for Ocado are earning less than the minimum wage, the Observer can reveal.

The drivers, who deliver orders for the online retailer’s rapid delivery service, Ocado Zoom, were previously guaranteed an hourly wage of £14. But they are not employed directly by Ocado and claim their income plunged after the company brought in a new delivery partner, Ryde, in June.

Faizan Babar, who has been delivering Ocado groceries for more than two years, said he could not afford to take his two young daughters on holiday this year or replace their broken scooter. “I’m making on average £50 on a 10-hour shift. And we pay for our own cars, tax, fuel and insurance out of that. It works out less than £5 an hour. Ocado is treating us like dirt.”

Ocado drivers ‘paid less than £5 an hour’