Tips paid to workers at on-demand delivery services including Instacart and Doordash are being used to substitute a portion of workers’ wages rather than directly boosting their income, according to online forums dedicated to gig economy workers, and reports to worker rights groups.
While the companies insist they have been transparent with their workers about the pay structure, consumer protection groups have criticized the practice as deceptive to consumers and unfair to workers.
…It’s a similar situation with Doordash, which updated its pay structure in late 2017. Drivers get a pay guarantee depending on the size and complexity of the delivery job. If that pay guarantee is $6 and the customer doesn’t tip, Doordash pays the full fee to the courier. However, if the customer tips $5, the courier still only gets $6 and the portion that Doordash pays drops to just $1.
Both companies insist that workers receive 100 percent of customer tips.