The parcel company DPD threw an all-expenses paid dinner for hundreds of its managers with entertainment by the comedian Rob Brydon just 24 hours after the funeral of Don Lane, the courier who died after he was charged £150 because he missed a shift for a medical appointment.
Details of the black-tie event in Birmingham last Thursday emerged after days of growing concern at the treatment of Lane, 53, who collapsed twice into diabetic comas while at the wheel of his DPD van in the months before he died. He missed several appointments with kidney specialists partly because he was afraid of being charged £150 per day by DPD if he could not find cover, his widow Ruth said.
Brydon is paid between £25,000 and £35,000 per performance, an industry source said, and with many managers also put up in hotels, the cost of the event is likely to increase concern at the contrast between how DPD treats its employed managers and the self-employed couriers.
Ruth Lane said she had not been offered any financial assistance by the company following her husband’s death and said: “These events are not for the drivers who are making the money. I doubt if they had a minute’s silence for the franchisee who died.”
A spokesman for DPD, which made more than £100m in profits last year, said: “The annual business conference is one of a number of ways we communicate with our team. We do cover travel and accommodation costs as we are asking staff from across the UK to join us for a full day at the conference, but the budget is carefully controlled.”
DPD has launched a wholesale review of its business following Lane’s death, which triggered anger from MPs and trade unions and concern from major customers Marks & Spencer and John Lewis.
The £150 charges are part of a controversial system that DPD applies to most of its self-employed couriers if they cannot find cover.
Dwain McDonald, the chief executive of DPD, said: “Don Lane was incorrectly charged £150 for not providing services when in fact he was attending a hospital appointment. This was a mistake and we are profoundly sorry. No one should ever be made to feel like they are unable to attend appointments relating to their health.
DPD drivers are treated as self-employed franchisees and their contract states that if they fail to perform the services requested by DPD, it can charge them £150 per day "by way of liquidated damages", or £75 per half day. This is on top of their lost earnings, because they are only paid per parcel delivered. Drivers can avoid the fine if they can find a substitute, but this is not always possible.
“Like all companies, we need to learn from our mistakes. As a result, we are carrying out an extensive consultation with our depots and drivers as part of a strategic review of our arrangements. When we have completed the consultation and collected all the feedback, we will be making further announcements.
“In the meantime, I can confirm that no franchisee driver will be charged for attending healthcare appointments and I will be ensuring that this is the case.”
The business secretary, Greg Clark, described Lane’s death as “a terrible tragedy” on Wednesday, while Downing Street’s adviser on modern work, Matthew Taylor, said it was shocking.
DPD is separately facing an employment tribunal claim brought by couriers with the support of the GMB trade union arguing that they are bogusly classed as self-employed and should be treated as workers with rights to holiday pay and the minimum wage.
A spokesman for M&S, one of the courier firm’s biggest clients, said earlier this week: “The circumstances will be raised as part of our ongoing discussions with courier providers.” John Lewis indicated it wanted answers from DPD, which is ultimately owned by GeoPost, part of the French company La Poste.
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McDonald said: “We are all devastated by the news of Don Lane’s passing and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends at this extremely difficult time.”
The decision to launch a review also follows anger from road safety campaigners after it emerged that McDonald had boasted at a business conference about how he broke the law by driving along the M62 motorway while using his phone to take a photograph of a DPD van.
