What do you need to start a food delivery service from a restaurant in the UK? Register at least 28 days before trading (or tell the local authority about a new delivery service), give allergen information before the purchase is completed and when the food is delivered, show mandatory delivery charges in the invitation to purchase, check late night refreshment rules for hot food between 11pm and 5am, and remember alcohol is not treated as served until it is delivered.
What the film covers
- What a marketplace takes from every delivery order
- How to start your own delivery service: the three routes
- Restaurant own delivery drivers: what one delivery costs
- Wages, employer National Insurance and holiday
- Mileage
- Deliveries per hour is the lever
- What the £7.21 leaves out
- Contracted and on-demand couriers for orders from your own site
Questions the film answers
- Do I need a licence to deliver food from my restaurant?
The sources read for this research describe no separate food delivery licence. A restaurant must be registered as a food business, and the FSA says to tell the local authority about a new delivery or takeaway service. Alcohol delivery and hot food between 11pm and 5am raise separate licensing questions for the licensing authority.
- How much does it cost to run my own delivery drivers?
In this guide's illustrative example, an employed driver on 12 paid hours a week at £12.71 costs £7.21 a delivery at three deliveries an hour, after wages, employer National Insurance, holiday and 55p-a-mile mileage. At two an hour it is £9.72, and at four an hour £5.96. Insurance and packaging are extra.
- Should I employ delivery drivers or use self-employed couriers?
It depends on the facts, not the label. GOV.UK sets out tests for self-employed status and worker status, and says courts and tribunals can make final decisions. A driver the restaurant directs, schedules and equips may not be self-employed. Write the arrangement down and take advice.
- Can I advertise free delivery and still follow the CMA rules?
The CMA says mandatory delivery charges must be in the invitation to purchase, and in the total price if they can reasonably be calculated. If the customer must choose between delivery charges, show the cheapest option until they choose another. The free-delivery threshold guide covers displaying a free-delivery threshold.
- What allergen information do I owe delivery customers, and when?
For food sold online or by phone, the FSA says allergen information must be provided before the purchase is completed and again when the food is delivered. The first can be written on a website or menu, or given by phone. The second can be a sticker, an enclosed menu or spoken by the driver.
- Can I deliver wine or beer with a meal?
Raise it with the licensing authority first. Section 182 guidance says an alcohol delivery service should be notified in the operating schedule, and that a premises with a licence may need a variation. The person delivering remains responsible for age verification, and an age-restriction flag on the dish helps the kitchen mark the items.