The “rider law” shakes the booming sector of home delivery in Spain

Legal uncertainty and clash with the unions: five months after the approval of the “rider law” in Spain, which grants employee status to food distributors, the norm continues to shake the platforms, which seek to reposition themselves in a sector in full swing boiling.

The new law was born as a pioneer, with a vocation to serve as a model for the many countries where the “riders”, delivery men loaded with large backpacks that move by motorcycle or bicycle, have increased exponentially.

The so-called “rider law”, adopted in mid-May by the left-wing government of Pedro Sánchez, caused thousands of them, until now considered self-employed, were hired in recent weeks.

“These people now do have social protection,” celebrates Carlos Gutiérrez, from the Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) union, for whom this reform “is already producing effects.”

The text, which came into force on August 12, introduced in the Workers’ Statute a “presumption of employment” for all deliverymen who work through applications such as Uber Eats, Glovo or Deliveroo. The change was a real revolution for the platforms, now forced to pay the social contributions of these employees.

“They are important improvements for delivery men, who have precarious working conditions. But we must remain vigilant, because there are still pending problems ”, underlines Rubén Ranz, from the UGT (General Union of Workers) union.

With the sector shaken by the new norm, the British group Deliveroo announced at the end of July its plans to leave Spain, despite being one of the most dynamic markets for the delivery of food at home, with 4.7 million registered customers at the end of 2019 according to the study office Afi.

The exit operation, which had already been planned before the application of the law, is currently in the final phase. “Deliveroo has already opened a collective dismissal procedure,” explains Ranz, which will affect 3,871 people, but “we still do not have the conditions,” he points out.

‘Chaotic period’

It is still difficult to determine who will benefit from Deliveroo’s departure, as the platforms have opted for different models to adapt to the new legal framework.

Just Eat, which had been in favor of the reform, launched negotiations with the unions over the summer to launch its “own network of delivery men.” In the Spanish market for 11 years, the company will then have the “first collective agreement” in the sector, according to its director, Patrik Bergareche.

The Californian giant Uber Eats, on its side, opted for an outsourcing system: the delivery people who use its application are now salaried through intermediate companies in the logistics sector, such as Closer Logistics, Deelivers and Delorean.

A strategy defended by the company, which considers it to be in order with the “Rider law”, but criticized by the unions. This is similar to an “illegal transfer of workers”, judges Rubén Ranz, for whom “the platforms should have their own employees”.

The main criticisms, however, are taken by the Catalan Glovo. The popular yellow backpack platform – which in April raised investments of 450 million euros – announced that it would employ 2,000 delivery people who work for their own online supermarkets or for companies with which they have agreements.

The rest of the delivery men who work with them, up to 10,000, will continue to be autonomous. The Spanish group, which has not responded to the AFP’s questions, has created a new statute with which it intends to reinforce the independence of the ‘riders’: from now on, they will be able to connect to work at the time that best suits them and They will not be penalized if they reject an order.

This model, which aims to eliminate any direct relationship with the distributors, “does not respect the law,” criticizes Carlos Gutiérrez. “They know that what they are doing is illegal, but they want to buy time,” adds Ranz.

The UGT and CCOO unions have protested to the Labor Inspectorate, which could launch a judicial process. A new point of uncertainty in a boiling market, after the landing in recent weeks of new platforms such as Rocket and Getir, whose distributors will be salaried.

“We are in a somewhat chaotic period where everyone is trying to take positions, in a market in which huge amounts of money are being invested and which is in full swing,” summed up the founder of Deelivers, Adrián Pena, in a recent forum.