Delivery giant Glovo to ditch self-employment and hire its 15,000 couriers
10 December 2024
Delivery giant Glovo will put an end to their self-employed model and formally hire the estimated 15,000 couriers that currently work for them in Spain, the company announced last Tuesday. The news broke a day before Glovo CEO Oscar Pierre was due in court to testify in a case of workers' rights violations. The executive dismissed this as a mere coincidence and argued the company's business model is "legal" under Spanish and European law.
 | Carlos Caselles But he is wrong. Glovo's operations breach the Spanish "Rider Law", enacted in 2021 to force delivery apps to offer employee-friendly work contracts instead of their favored commercial alternative. Their model also contradicts the recently approved EU Platform Work Directive, whose main goal is to prevent gig workers from missing out on key rights, such as paid leave and workplace safety, by being misclassified as self-employed. And when it rains, it pours. A day before Pierre’s court appearance, British-based competitor JustEat (who hire their couriers) made it public they had filed a lawsuit against Glovo for anti-competitive practices, and are seeking €295 million in compensatory damages. |
Welcome to The European Correspondent
Europe lacks true European media: in Germany alone, there are more media devoted exclusively to football than news outlets specialising on Europe. The established players mainly focus on Brussels and European institutions. The European Correspondent aims to change that. We cover the whole of Europe and write for a community of citizens who want to look beyond their own national borders. Without European journalism, there is no European civil society.
〉Read our manifesto
〉The stories we would like to write for you
Become a donor!
The European Correspondent is fully funded by its readers. We can only produce the newsletter with your support - and work towards the bigger project: building true European media. Donate now!
With your help, we can create true European journalism. Thank you!
We are non-profit. Every donated € goes directly into The European Correspondent.