Spain: Supreme Court recognises delivery platform rider as an employee

In the case of a delivery rider operating via the Glovo platform, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled on 25 September that the rider is not a self-employed worker nor an economically dependent self-employed person (an intermediate status recognised under Spanish law) but rather an employee of the delivery platform. The reasons for the ruling are now available and they are in keeping with an assessment of how work is carried out that is common to decisions handed down by high-level courts in other countries. “The platform is not limited to providing an electronic intermediary service to bring consumers (customers) and genuine self-employed workers into contact; it also coordinates and organises the service provided”. This decision comes as the Spanish government prepares a new statute to regulate the working conditions of platform workers.