Meeting with
Deliveroo
s(2021)7246130 - 25/11/2021
Online, 15 November 2021
Report of the meeting between
and Commissioner Schmit
7 October 2021
Participants
European Commission
M. Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs & Social Rights;
Ms Ana Carla Pereira, Employment and Social Adviser to Commissioner Schmit;
Jere PAIVINEN, NEPT in the Cabinet of Commissioner Schmit.
Deliveroo
Deliveroo;
Deliveroo;
Deliveroo.
Main takeaways
Deliveroo`s market is highly competitive and companies are competing for the same
workforce, thus Deliveroo has three key elements it wants to deliver for its drivers: 1)
strong earnings 2) security 3) flexibility. According to survey conducted by Deliveroo,
flexibility is the most important element for drivers. In Deliveroo`s own assessment key
elements, and in particular flexibility, can be best provided by using the self-employed
model. Deliveroo`s current model is ruled to be genuine self-employed model by
multiple court rulings.
Representatives of Deliveroo emphasised that the company does not pose any kind of
control over its drivers; they can freely login to the platform at any time and in any
location, accept or reject orders, work for multiple platforms and so on. Most of the
drivers work for Deliveroo as part-time and Deliveroo claimed drivers` earnings to be
higher compared to many other sectors, as hours worked are lower than compared to
e.g. ride-hailing platforms.
Many workers from sectors affected by the lockdown measures started to work on the
Deliveroo`s platform. Even though labour markets are booming around Europe,
workers are staying at its platform and even more is in line to join. Deliveroo looks at
this as manifestation of its business model`s functioning from drivers` perspective.
Deliveroo voiced their concerns regarding a possible rebuttable presumption which
would cause excess burden as well as high costs for all parties involved. Classifying
drivers as employees would in the end come at cause of flexibility, which in turn would
have negative consequences for platforms, drivers, restaurant industry, grocery and
food wholesale markets. A rule on shifting the burden of proof seems more of a
compromise but would come at high litigation costs.
From Deliveroo`s perspective, the main issue is its desire to provide more security for
drivers (e.g. AWOD insurance, sickness benefits, parental benefits) but are struggling
to do this without jeopardizing drivers being classified as employees. Deliveroo called
for a consistent way of classifying self-employed within the EU, meaning in a way that
benefits/security provided by the platform would not be taken into account as a factor of
employment relationship. This is in line with the recent proposal made in France.
Commissioner concurred on the importance of flexibility. If a person wants to be self-
employed and there is no control or subordination from platform, there should not be a
problem. Commissioner pointed out that there is high number of ongoing court cases
(though not on Deliveroo) despite platform companies reporting workers desire to be
classified as self-employed, which points that everything is not as it should be.
Topics for discussion
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Meeting with
Deliveroo
Online, 15 November 2021
Deliveroo said there is always a minority that is unhappy and causing these court
cases, however Deliveroo bases its business model on desires of majority.
From the COM point of view, the main aim is to find a balance between flexibility and
security. This would also provide stability for companies to operate without constant
threat of litigation. However, rules on level of protection provided for self-employed are
issues of Member States competence, thus also unfortunately varying greatly.
Deliveroo acknowledged this but argued once more about the problem being that it
cannot provide additional security in those countries where the security provided by the
local system is insufficient, for reason articulated before. Deliveroo is having constant
debate with national and local authorities but called for EU-level approach and actions
from the COM.
Commisioner concluded on that Deliveroo`s perspective of having possibility to provide
more security without it affecting classification is very interesting and it needs to be
looked into in more detail and analysed. Commissioner emphasised that in the end
workers are in the heart of initiative.
Deliveroo promised to be at available if needed and to provide more information on
aforementioned surveys and extra security provided to drivers.
Topics for discussion
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