Dozens of drivers are taking legal action against a Royal Mail-owned courier service, arguing that they are entitled to workers’ rights.

The 46 drivers are classified as self-employed by eCourier. They work around the clock making deliveries, including transporting vital blood and tissue samples to and from NHS hospitals.

Their case, due to be heard at an employment tribunal this year, alleges that the company has wrongly categorised them as self-employed despite features of their work that they say point to worker status. Such a classification would confer rights such as the minimum wage and holiday pay.

The drivers are being represented by the law firm Leigh Day, which successfully brought a similar challenge on behalf of Uber drivers. In February 2021, the supreme court ruled Uber drivers should be classed as workers rather than self-employed contractors.

eCourier drivers say the level of control exercised over their work – including how jobs are allocated and expectations around availability and performance – is inconsistent with genuine self-employment.

Two of the claimants, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Guardian they hoped the case would lead to improved working conditions. One said: “We need eCourier to change how they categorise us. We deserve to have holiday pay and the other benefits associated. We want drivers to be treated with the respect they deserve.”

The second driver said he struggled to make ends meet under the current arrangements. “I work 12-hour shifts, five days a week, but depending on how many jobs I get, I can take home less than the minimum wage. Sometimes, I’m sitting in the van for five or six hours on my shift without work.

“We have to pay our own vehicle rental, fuel and tax. Most of my work is delivering patient samples to NHS hospitals. I want to see a change in how drivers are treated and I just want things to be fair.”

Mandy Bhattal, an employment partner at Leigh Day, said: “Leigh Day is of the opinion that eCourier is misclassifying their drivers as self-employed, when in reality the drivers are able to point to various factors that indicate they are workers.

“If the eCourier drivers are found to be workers, rather than self-employed, they will be able to claim for holiday pay and national minimum wage, after deductions. Being classified as workers enables the eCourier drivers to assert greater employment rights than if they were self-employed.”

The claim is supported by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain. Its president, Alex Marshall, said: “This case highlights the government’s failure to tackle the deep injustice that runs through the gig economy. While ministers promote the employment rights bill as a once-in-a-generation advance for workers, they continue to ignore the elephant in the room: gig economy companies are still being allowed to opt out of basic workers’ rights altogether.

“For employers who want to deny their workforce fair pay and protections, the gig economy remains wide open for business.”

An eCourier spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment specifically on ongoing litigation matters. However, eCourier already offers couriers the choice of being engaged either as workers, with entitlement to rights such as holiday pay and sick pay, or as self-employed contractors. Most have preferred to engage via the independent contractor arrangement.”