The Fine Line Between Employment and Commercial Relationships: ONLINE DELIVERY RIDERS

The Cour de cassation in France, the equivalent of the Supreme Court in Spain, has ruled that the contractual relationship between delivery riders working for online platforms constitutes an employment relationship.

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The Court has held that the company Take Eat Easy must recognise an employment relationship with workers it had until now treated as self-employed.

The Court's first ground for its decision is that the platform's system of bonuses and penalties applied to delivery riders is equivalent to the disciplinary powers that an employer exercises over employees. Its second ground is that the application's permanent geolocation system, which tracks delivery riders' positions in real time and records the total distance covered, enables the company to monitor and direct the work being carried out.

This is undoubtedly a ruling that could set a precedent across Europe, with the potential to cross borders as a benchmark for assessing the characteristics of an employment relationship. In Spain, two conflicting rulings currently exist on this type of contractual arrangement: that of employment tribunal No. 6 of Valencia, dated 1 June 2018, which examined the contractual relationship of Deliveroo delivery riders and found an employment relationship to exist; and that of employment tribunal No. 39 of Madrid, in a case involving Glovo, which found the riders to be self-employed.

The consequences for a company if an employment relationship is declared can be significant. The General Treasury of Social Security may raise assessments covering the previous four years of Social Security contributions, making it essential to seek advice from employment lawyers in order to have a clear understanding of the boundaries between the two possible contractual arrangements: employment and self-employment (including economically dependent self-employed workers, known as TRADEs).

For further information, please see this link to a French law firm: http://mbavocats.eu/la-qualite-de-salarie-des-livreurs-a-velo-est-reconnue-par-la-cour-de-cassation/?utm_campaign=La+qualit%E9+de+salari%E9+des+livreurs+%E0+v%E9lo+est+reconnue++par+la+Cour+de+cassation&utm_source=splio&utm_medium=email