Spanish Courts Rule Against Deliveroo: 'Riders Are Not Self-Employed'

Spanish riders have won an important battle this summer to clarify their labor relationship with digital platforms. Two courts in Madrid and Valencia have ruled that Deliveroo riders are subjected to an employment relationship with the British company giving the reason to the Spanish Ministry of Labor.

At the end of July, a Court of Madrid ruled that the 537 Deliveroo riders working in the Spanish capital between October 2015 and June 2017 were employees operating under a false appearance of self-employed. A month before, a Court of Valencia also recognized the “labor relationship” of the 97 Deliveroo riders in the city in 2017. The food delivery company has been condemned to pay the Social Security fees of each rider during the corresponding period.

Deliveroo has already appealed both rulings since they believe that “the sentences do not reflect the way riders collaborate with the company.” However, the victory may set an example for future judicial proceedings regarding riders’ rights. Both trials have a strong symbolism for the group.

I reached out to Intersindical Valenciana, the union that denounced Deliveroo before the Labor Inspectorate in Valencia: “We expect the company to regularize the situation of male and female workers,” they said. “These types of companies must comply with Spanish labor legislation. They cannot keep the current situation outside the labor legal system.”

In the ruling of the court of Madrid, the judge exposed that the Deliveroo riders “had executed a personal work under conditions organized and directed by the company, which is the only one that controls the Deliveroo brand, the digital application, and all the information about it.”

According to the ruling, the real margin of autonomy of the riders was “limited to aspects that are not determining.” The ruling pointed out that riders have the possibility of choosing the means of transport as well as the route and can reject the orders. However, the judge warned about the “negative consequences” that not accepting an order can entail since rejections are taken into account by the company to elaborate the allocation metrics.

On the other hand, the ruling of the court of Madrid indicated that the guides gave by Deliveroo “not only detailed multiple aspects about how the work is to be done but also established rules of behavior with express prohibitions.” For example, riders could not enter with the helmet on their heads in restaurants or customers houses.

The judge of Valencia exposed similar arguments in the ruling regarding Deliveroo’s control over the distribution process: “The real means of production are not the bicycle and the mobile that the ‘rider’ uses but the digital platform that matches the supply and demand, which is owned by the company.” The court of Valencia also pointed out that restaurants, consumers and riders must be registered in the app, “without which the provision of the service is not feasible.”

Deliveroo insisted that the company “collaborates with autonomous riders” in a modality that “allows them to have the flexibility and control they want.” According to Deliveroo, “as freelancers, riders can choose whether they want to work or not, as well as when and how long.”

However, despite the supposed labor autonomy attributed to the company’s model, both courts concluded that riders are subject to an employment relationship. “Deliveroo must hire their workers as the courts have dictated and stop delaying the judicial process,” said Intersindical Valenciana, which has also denounced the threats that Deliveroo riders are facing when they protest against working conditions.

“One of the most relevant cases has been the dismissal of several riders for participating in strikes or acts of protest,” explained the union. “These layoffs have reached the courts, which have ruled in favor of the workers.”

For Intersindical Valenciana, the role of the Labor Inspectorate “has been key” in the proceedings and believes that the Ministry of Labor has to “act ex officio and increase vigilance” towards companies that do not comply the Spanish legislation. The union demands to enforce the Spanish labor law so Deliveroo riders will no longer be considered self-employees –and therefore will no longer have to pay their own Social Security fees.

For its part, Deliveroo claims that it “has continuously advocated for a legal reform that allows companies to offer autonomous riders more security, without compromising flexibility.”

The battle will continue in the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid and Valencia.