Business instantly hiring stood-down Aussies amid Covid-19 lockdown

With many people out of work due to Covid-19 lockdowns, one company says it hires stood-down workers within 24 hours.

One company claims it can hire new employees within 24 hours of them applying, as three states endure lockdown across the country.

Similar to Uber, Sherpa is an Aussie company that runs through an app, but acts as a courier service rather than a taxi service.

Melinda Peck, 47, signed up after she was stood down from Jetstar during Australia’s nationwide lockdown in Mach last year, after working with them for 16 years.

A single mum, Ms Peck had no idea how she was going to support herself or her 11-year-old son.

“I got into a panic,” she told news.com.au, saying she did not know how she would afford her $550 a week rent for a flat in Sydney’s northern beaches.

Ms Peck plugged “delivery” into her computer and found Sherpa.

She had signed up, been accepted and done a few rides by the time JobKeeper was announced on March 30, 2020.

This time around in lockdown, Ms Peck has once again turned to Sherpa.

Thousands of workers have been stood down across NSW, South Australia and Victoria as the Delta strain of Covid-19 has taken hold.

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Melinda Peck on a Sherpa run.

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“I went online and found (Sherpa) and realised how easy it was,” she said.

All she needed was a police check, driver‘s licence and ABN, and she was good to go.

As a working single parent, who also had to facilitate home learning for her son, Ms Peck said it was easy to make $200 in a day.

“I’d get up, turn the app on, then try and get a run that was time-efficient,” she said.

“I don’t like to go too far from the area I’m familiar with, sort of a 5-10km radius at the most.”

Eight deliveries equated to about $100, Ms Peck said.

On occasion, after about two hours, she sometimes made about $200. However, often it was less than that.

During NSW’s first lockdown, demand for courier drivers was quite high as home deliveries became more popular so Ms Peck knew she wouldn’t be out of work.

This time around, Sherpa has recorded an 80 per cent increase on its June levels.

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Ms Peck in her Jetstar uniform.

Ms Peck’s main client is Dan Murphy’s.

“I mostly do Dan Murphy’s, because it’s heavier and you’re doing larger boxes you get paid a little extra. It’s a good workout, carrying boxes, going upstairs,” she said.

Ms Peck opted for Sherpa rather than a service like Uber, because with the disease spreading, she was nervous about people being in her car.

Even when JobKeeper came out, she kept the job, as a way to keep her “sane” and keep her out of the house.

She only started working again for Qantas in March this year, with her stand-down lasting for an entire 12 months.

“When this (lockdown) happened I thought ‘here we go again’,” she said.

“It’s so great to have something to fall back on that’s really flexible.”

Earlier this week, Australian Services Union assistant national secretary Emeline Gaske warned that due to last year’s lockdown, many Qantas workers “ have already sold their house, drained their superannuation savings or liquidated other assets”.

“Workers have been hanging on by a thread and they simply can’t afford delay – we need swift, decisive action from the federal government or people will slip through the net,” she said.

“If workers are forced into an unpaid stand-down and JobKeeper is not reinstated by the federal government, many workers and their families will be left destitute.”

Ms Peck got hired very quickly into the courier service.

A company spokesperson said Sherpa is “desperate” for drivers as business is “booming” during lockdown.

“Sherpa is in desperate need of drivers, particularly in Sydney and Perth, due to a huge increase in online deliveries as customers shift online and traditional retail is closed,” the spokesperson said.

Sherpa chief executive Duncan Brett said that last week, the top Sherpa earned $3500 by working six days, earning almost $600 a day.

Another 50 Sherpas across Australia earned more than $2000, 245 earned more than $1000 and 700 Sherpas earned more than $500 last week.

Sherpa delivers groceries, pharmacy, alcohol, flowers, gifts and general retail for major customers including Woolworths, Apple, Chemist Warehouse, Roses Only and Dan Murphy’s.