Uber Eats already distributes again with freelancers despite warnings of Labor sanctions

Uber Eats already distributes again with autonomous riders, such as Glovo, despite warnings of sanctions by the Ministry of Labor. After a brief pilot in five municipalities, Uber Eats has recovered the distribution with autonomous couriers in all the cities where it has been operating since last "Wednesday night", they respond from the company. This is a new pulse to the Rider Lawwhich the Government approved to prevent the use of freelancers on these digital platforms, which had been invalidated by the Labor Inspectorate and the courts for recruitment fraud.

Uber Eats fulfills its threat and announces that it will return to the self-employed model days after the anniversary of the Rider Law

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The multinational of green backpacks began its first movements in August, when it communicated to former messengers of the platform his intention to return to the cast with freelancersa model that had been abandoned due to the entry into force of the Rider Law.

The legislation meant a new legal framework for the sector, the presumption of employment of the riders in the face of the systematic abuse of false self-employed, but one of the largest home delivery companies challenged the norm: Glovo. The multinational was the only one that finally kept its couriers autonomous, through a new system with some changes.

After months with Glovo distributing with freelancers, Uber Eats expressed its complaint to Labor for what he considered to be unfair competition and a government that "has failed to enforce the Rider Law." Faced with the situation of "disadvantage", he launched a question to Labor: "Should we follow the example of Glovo and work with freelancers to be able to compete on equal terms?"

Labor has warned of harsh sanctions

What then sounded like a threat has been fulfilled. Uber Eats has also redeployed the self-employed model, which means that two of the main companies in the sector stand up to the presumption of employment of the Rider Law. Deliveroo left Spain, but before it hired the couriers and applied an ERE to them, and Just Eat now remains the only large company that applies a labor model, especially through subcontracting, but also with a directly hired workforce. by the company.

After the Uber Eats communication to its messengers in August, the Ministry of Labor came out to respond in public in a clear manner, with the notice of harsh sanctions for those who do not comply with the Rider Law. Even the Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, raised the possibility that the companies had “criminal responsibilities” in the face of a “flagrant and announced” breach of the law.

A few days ago, the Labor Minister herself insisted on a strong hand in the face of non-compliance. “We have already sanctioned them and in a very intense way. And believe me, the weight of the law is going to be applied harshly. We are going to see even more performances these days”, warned Yolanda Díaz in an interview in elDiario.es Posted Sunday night. Three days later, Uber Eats again extended the self-employed model across the country.

The company says it complies with the law

As happened with Glovo, Uber Eats has followed in its footsteps to justify that the use of autonomous riders complies with the legislation. Since their previous models had already been invalidated by the Labor Inspection and by the courts, both companies have launched new self-employment systems, incorporating changes in the conditions of the messengers. For example, a greater capacity to set their remuneration, something that the courts had pointed out as a clear sign of their lack of autonomy. With these changes, companies ensure that they comply with the legal framework.

“Given the success of the pilot, we launched our new model for all those delivery people who want to work as self-employed, in compliance with current regulations, in the rest of Spain. This new model includes important changes that offer the delivery person greater control over their activity, such as the possibility of freely setting their rate, ”says an Uber Eats spokesperson.

The multinational has published on its website some of the new conditions for autonomous couriers, such as that riders can "determine the minimum price per kilometer in each order and only receive offers that are equal to or greater than the chosen rate", as well as that they can “change this rate at any time and as many times” as the courier wants.

As has happened with Glovo, now the battle over the legality of the hiring model for these couriers resets the counter to zero. The Labor Inspection is facing a new model to evaluate and analyze, a process that takes time, as the example of Glovo has shown, which has been distributing with freelancers for a year without being sanctioned.

The Ministry of Labor has announced that there are new sanctions to fall (it is intuited that on Glovo), but now it will be necessary to see how the conflict evolves. If with a new and long battle with resources and cross complaints in court, or if the Government deploys some other strategy against the rebellious multinationals.