[Spain] Rider Law and the scuffle for Deliveroo’s customers

One hundred days have passed since the Rider Law came into effect in Spain. The law regulates the relationship between delivery drivers and delivery companies and companies have been trying to adapt to its adoption, with mixed results, CVBJ.biz reports.

Since the Rider Law was approved, Fernando Garca - a member of the Riders rights platform - works eight hours a day and enjoys fixed hours and stability. He now charges 400 euros more than he did prior to its implementation. He is one of the distributors who has gained “in quality of life” since the law was passed and his working life was regulated. His experience, however, has not been the same for all his peers. Some companies are hiring delivery drivers, others are partially hiring and some work with third-party fleets. Various formulas are being explored across the country.

“The law is partially complied with, but above all has forced the sector to transform because many new platforms that are entering Spain already do so with the distributors on the workforce,“ Mr Garca said.

“Some platforms are adopting cosmetic measures, rather than real ones, but the regulations have served above all to give a touch of attention to companies," Pere Vidal - lawyer and professor at the UOC - said. Mr Vidal also believes that there will be more inspections to control from now on.

The Fight for Deliveroo

Deliveroo, one of Spain’s pioneering platforms, left the country on November 29. The delivery platform has been gradually winding down operations for months since its departure was announced. Deliveroo worked with 10,000 restaurants in Spain in more than 70 cities (covering the majority of provinces) but in recent weeks “many have been withdrawn due to circumstances”.

Now the fight will begin between the remaining platforms to attract all those Deliveroo clients. “There has been such destructive competition between platforms, a career in which they have even broken the law, that have destroyed themselves. Now there will be a big fight to stay with Deliveroo customers,” Mr Garca said, noting that Glovo, Just Eat and Uber Eats are already “thrown to death to invest to keep that quota.“

During this time Deliveroo and the works council have been negotiating within the framework of the ERE for the cessation of operations. Workers will receive compensation of 45 days of salary per year of service, with a guaranteed minimum of 1,000 euros in the case of those not reaching this amount through seniority and salary.

The change affects 3,800 workers, including riders (who were hired to serve on the works council) and structure workers, according to Deliveroo.

Agreement

Following the Rider Law coming into force, many new platforms have reportedly emerged such as Gorillas or Rocket, among others. 100 days after the law took hold the balance of the market looks promising since many more operators are entering Spain than leaving. 

“These new operators enter the Spanish market in compliance with the legislation and, as Just Eat has been doing for years, offering an employment contract to its distributors,” Patrick Bergareche - director of Just Eat in Spain - said.

Just Eat negotiated with the unions to create Spain’s first collective agreement for a food delivery company. “They have always been the good boy of the class and this has served to put pressure on the rest,“ Mr Garca said.

“There are still things to improve, and this is only the first screen of the video game, but the generation of legal security in our sector is having a favourable impact on the promotion of free competition and the sustainability of the ecosystem," Mr Bergareche said.

According to a spokesperson for the platform, Glovo has started “the direct hiring of distributors, with fixed schedules and remuneration and specific routes for those services that, by their nature, are technologically and operationally viable.” Glovo has more than 30,000 restaurants. and establishments in nearly 400 cities.

Fernando Garca - who works for Glovo - clarifies that the 20 per cent of workers who do supermarket deliveries have been regulated but yet those who make restaurant deliveries. “80% continue with the old model, which they have retouched to disguise. There will be fines, but Glovo is probably waiting to capture the Deliveroo quota before finally taking it down,“ Mr Garca said.

According to him, adapting to the law also implies changes at the operational level, because it means setting fixed hours for workers and changing work dynamics since riders now have fixed shifts and hours.

“At Glovo we work against the clock to adapt to the regulation, counting for this with a very short transition period for a change of such magnitude. We wanted it to be a real and fair transition that complies with the legal framework and also reflects the reality of the sector,” the company spokesperson told CVBJ.

Platforms

Uber Eats has responded to the law by outsourcing part of its fleets, But “the problem is that now they comply with the Rider Law but skip the subcontracting law”, a spokesperson for the Riders association for rights pointed out. The association has criticised the conditions under which drivers are working and “the worsening of the quality of the service, which it has made them lose quota.”

The platform responded to the criticism, saying, “Since the entry into force of the law, all distributors who use the Uber Eats app have employment contracts and associated benefits. We also trust the government to ensure that all platforms in the sector comply with the law.

“All delivery drivers who work with the Uber Eats app are protected with employment contracts and all employment benefits with fleets that collaborate with our platform. At Uber, we only work with ethical fleets that comply with the regulations and we will provide a detailed code of conduct, as we usually do with all our partners.”

Source: CVBJ.biz

(Quotes via original reporting)

One hundred days have passed since the Rider Law came into effect in Spain. The law regulates the relationship between delivery drivers and delivery companies and companies have been trying to adapt to its adoption, with mixed results, CVBJ.biz reports.

Since the Rider Law was approved, Fernando Garca - a member of the Riders rights platform - works eight hours a day and enjoys fixed hours and stability. He now charges 400 euros more than he did prior to its implementation. He is one of the distributors who has gained “in quality of life” since the law was passed and his working life was regulated. His experience, however, has not been the same for all his peers. Some companies are hiring delivery drivers, others are partially hiring and some work with third-party fleets. Various formulas are being explored across the country.

“The law is partially complied with, but above all has forced the sector to transform because many new platforms that are entering Spain already do so with the distributors on the workforce,“ Mr Garca said.

“Some platforms are adopting cosmetic measures, rather than real ones, but the regulations have served above all to give a touch of attention to companies," Pere Vidal - lawyer and professor at the UOC - said. Mr Vidal also believes that there will be more inspections to control from now on.

The Fight for Deliveroo

Deliveroo, one of Spain’s pioneering platforms, left the country on November 29. The delivery platform has been gradually winding down operations for months since its departure was announced. Deliveroo worked with 10,000 restaurants in Spain in more than 70 cities (covering the majority of provinces) but in recent weeks “many have been withdrawn due to circumstances”.

Now the fight will begin between the remaining platforms to attract all those Deliveroo clients. “There has been such destructive competition between platforms, a career in which they have even broken the law, that have destroyed themselves. Now there will be a big fight to stay with Deliveroo customers,” Mr Garca said, noting that Glovo, Just Eat and Uber Eats are already “thrown to death to invest to keep that quota.“

During this time Deliveroo and the works council have been negotiating within the framework of the ERE for the cessation of operations. Workers will receive compensation of 45 days of salary per year of service, with a guaranteed minimum of 1,000 euros in the case of those not reaching this amount through seniority and salary.

The change affects 3,800 workers, including riders (who were hired to serve on the works council) and structure workers, according to Deliveroo.

Agreement

Following the Rider Law coming into force, many new platforms have reportedly emerged such as Gorillas or Rocket, among others. 100 days after the law took hold the balance of the market looks promising since many more operators are entering Spain than leaving. 

“These new operators enter the Spanish market in compliance with the legislation and, as Just Eat has been doing for years, offering an employment contract to its distributors,” Patrick Bergareche - director of Just Eat in Spain - said.

Just Eat negotiated with the unions to create Spain’s first collective agreement for a food delivery company. “They have always been the good boy of the class and this has served to put pressure on the rest,“ Mr Garca said.

“There are still things to improve, and this is only the first screen of the video game, but the generation of legal security in our sector is having a favourable impact on the promotion of free competition and the sustainability of the ecosystem," Mr Bergareche said.

According to a spokesperson for the platform, Glovo has started “the direct hiring of distributors, with fixed schedules and remuneration and specific routes for those services that, by their nature, are technologically and operationally viable.” Glovo has more than 30,000 restaurants. and establishments in nearly 400 cities.

Fernando Garca - who works for Glovo - clarifies that the 20 per cent of workers who do supermarket deliveries have been regulated but yet those who make restaurant deliveries. “80% continue with the old model, which they have retouched to disguise. There will be fines, but Glovo is probably waiting to capture the Deliveroo quota before finally taking it down,“ Mr Garca said.

According to him, adapting to the law also implies changes at the operational level, because it means setting fixed hours for workers and changing work dynamics since riders now have fixed shifts and hours.

“At Glovo we work against the clock to adapt to the regulation, counting for this with a very short transition period for a change of such magnitude. We wanted it to be a real and fair transition that complies with the legal framework and also reflects the reality of the sector,” the company spokesperson told CVBJ.

Platforms

Uber Eats has responded to the law by outsourcing part of its fleets, But “the problem is that now they comply with the Rider Law but skip the subcontracting law”, a spokesperson for the Riders association for rights pointed out. The association has criticised the conditions under which drivers are working and “the worsening of the quality of the service, which it has made them lose quota.”

The platform responded to the criticism, saying, “Since the entry into force of the law, all distributors who use the Uber Eats app have employment contracts and associated benefits. We also trust the government to ensure that all platforms in the sector comply with the law.

“All delivery drivers who work with the Uber Eats app are protected with employment contracts and all employment benefits with fleets that collaborate with our platform. At Uber, we only work with ethical fleets that comply with the regulations and we will provide a detailed code of conduct, as we usually do with all our partners.”

Source: CVBJ.biz

(Quotes via original reporting)