DoorDash Inc. will begin to offer its delivery workers an hourly wage option, according to an announcement from the company on Wednesday.
The food delivery service will now allow delivery workers — or “dashers” — to pick between earning a guaranteed hourly minimum rate for time spent on a delivery, or earning per job they take. The latter was previously the only option.
Dashers who choose to earn by time will be paid from the moment they accept an offer until it’s dropped off, along with 100% of tips. At the start of every delivery where the earn by time option is available, dashers can choose which earning method they want to use.
“We know there are dashers who prioritize reliability in their earnings, who simply want to get on the road and dash with an exact, upfront idea of how much they’ll earn for the time it takes to complete an order,” says the statement, “Earn by Time was developed precisely with those dashers in mind.”
Under the existing earn per order mode, dashers receive a base pay of $2-$10 dollars depending on the estimated duration, distance, and desirability of the order, along with promotions and 100% of tips. DoorDash said the hourly wage will vary by market, but is calculated to be similar to the per-order pay.
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection set a minimum pay rate of $17.96 per hour for workers on apps that pay for all of the time a worker is connected to the app, including waiting for trip offers, which will take effect on July 12, 2023. Apps that only pay for trip time must pay at least approximately $0.50 per minute, not including tips.
In addition to changing payment options, DoorDash will let delivery workers choose where they want to start delivering and receive offers that will take them directly there.
