Hermes Europe

Hermes Europe GmbH is a German delivery company headquartered in Hamburg, owned by the retail company Otto GmbH.[1]

Hermes Europe GmbH
TypePrivate
IndustryCourier
Founded1972 (1972) in West Germany
Headquarters
Hamburg
,
Germany
Area served
United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Germany, China, Russia
Key people
Carole Walker (CEO)
ProductsParcel delivery
ParentOtto GmbH
Websitewww.hermesworld.com

History
Volkswagen Crafter delivery van for Hermes in Germany

The company was founded in 1972 in West Germany and entered the market in East Germany in 1990. It expanded to France in 1997, the United Kingdom in 2000, Austria in 2007, Italy in 2009 and Russia in 2010. In Germany, Hermes Logistik Gruppe (HLG) is the country's largest post independent provider of deliveries to private customers.

Evri-Hermes UK

History

In November 2020 Advent International announced it would partner with the current management team to acquire a 75% stake in Hermes UK.[2] Otto Group will continue to own 25% of the company. Advent will also acquire a 25% stake in Hermes Germany, which includes other Hermes Germany Group companies including BorderGuru and a share in the ParcelLock joint venture. The partnership will not affect Hermes’ activities in Russia and Austria, the holding company Hermes Europe or the companies not involved in parcel delivery, namely Hermes Fulfilment, Hermes Einrichtungs Service, Girard Agediss, Hansecontrol and Otto International.

In March 2022, following allegations of poor customer service and parcel mishandling, Hermes UK announced it would rebrand as Evri.[3][4]

Criticism

The company was named as the second worst parcel delivery service in the United Kingdom (after Yodel) by users of moneysavingexpert.com in January 2014, with 30% of customers rating their experience as "bad".[5]

In September 2016 the government asked HM Revenue and Customs to consider launching an investigation into Hermes, after workers alleged they received pay equivalent to lower than the current minimum wage in the United Kingdom.[6] During this investigation a whistleblower claimed that Hermes coerced managers into misleading an HMRC investigation.[7]

In June 2018 an employment tribunal in Leeds found that a group of 65 couriers, supported by the GMB union through lawyers Leigh Day, were workers entitled to employment rights, including minimum wage and holiday pay, rather than self-employed as Hermes asserted. The GMB stated the ruling was likely to affect 14,500 Hermes couriers. Hermes is considering an appeal.[8][9]

During the coronavirus pandemic, Hermes said it would pay its drivers in the United Kingdom who needed to self-isolate only £20 daily, and payment would be made only to those who normally earned less than £90 daily. As a result, almost half its workers would receive nothing while payments to the rest would be capped at £280 per fortnight.[10]

In an April 2020 episode of Channel 4's consumer show Joe Lycett's Got Your Back, it was shown that Hermes was sending parcels they claimed were undeliverable to an auction house. Host Joe Lycett contested the undeliverability of the items, finding many goods auctioned off had legible names, addresses and tracking numbers.[11][12]

References
  1. "Hermes Group". Hermes Group. 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  2. "Hermes UK growth supported by investment from Advent International". Advent International. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  3. Hunt, Simon (11 March 2022). "Hermes changes its name to Evri after parcel mishandling allegations". www.standard.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. "Evri - The New Hermes | Cheap Parcel Delivery & Courier Service". www.evri.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  5. King, Mark (10 January 2014). "Yodel and Hermes named UK's worst parcel delivery firms". Moneywise. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. Booth, Robert (11 September 2016). "Hermes may face HMRC investigation into allegations of low pay". Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016 – via www.theguardian.com.
  7. Booth, Robert (4 May 2018). "Hermes 'trained managers to mislead tax inspectors'". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
  8. Siddique, Haroon (25 June 2018). "Hermes couriers are workers, not self-employed, tribunal rules". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  9. Faragher, Jo (25 June 2018). "Hermes drivers ruled as workers, not self-employed". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. "Coronavirus: unions attack 'paltry' sick pay for self-isolating couriers". The Guardian. 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  11. Investigating Delivery Service - YOUR Packages Are Sent to Auctions? - Joe Lycett's Got Your Back (11'38" video clip). Channel 4. 26 April 2020 – via YouTube.
  12. "Joe Lycett's Got Your Back - Series 2: Episode 3". Channel 4. 24 April 2020.
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