"Delivery firm Glovo riders in Spain to become employees," 2 December 2024

..."Glovo management decided to change from a freelance model to an employment-based model for its delivery riders in Spain to avoid further legal uncertainties leading to an increase of contingencies," Delivery Hero said in a statement.

Spain in 2021 became the first European Union nation to give food delivery riders labour rights, requiring that they be recognised as employees instead of being considered self-employed freelancers.

This means app-based food delivery firms like Glovo have to pay their riders -- who get around mostly on bikes and motorcycles -- employee contributions for benefits like sick leave and protections against dismissal.

After the law came into effect, Glovo agreed to employ riders for its online supermarkets but kept those delivering restaurant meals as freelancers under a new statute that it said strengthened their autonomy.

This led Spain's labour ministry to slap the company with fines totalling 205 million euros ($215 million) for violating the law. The European Commission is also investigating Glovo for labour law violations.

Glovo has appealed the fines. It argues the infringements cited by the labour ministry took place before the new law came into effect...

The company sent a message to all its riders on Monday morning to inform them of the upcoming change to their status...