Deliveroo must still employ its delivery drivers and also apply the collective labour agreement for professional freight transport, the subdistrict court ruled Tuesday in two cases brought by trade union FNV.
Deliveroo decided in early 2018 to stop employing delivery drivers. Couriers could only work for the meal delivery service via a zzp construction. This met the company with strong criticism and protest from delivery workers and unions.
Contract drawn up unilaterally by Deliveroo
FNV decided to take Deliveroo to court and was vindicated by the subdistrict court on Tuesday . According to the court in Amsterdam, the relationship between Deliveroo and delivery drivers did not change substantially with the introduction of the new form of contract. "What is important here is, among other things, that the partner agreement is a standard contract, drawn up completely and unilaterally by Deliveroo and is not negotiable," the judgment reads.
'In practice, freedom is considerably less'
In an earlier case last year, brought by a delivery driver, Deliveroo did win, but last year's case looked mainly at the written agreement. Yesterday's ruling looked at how the contract form was interpreted in practice.
Indeed, in practice, the freedom is considerably less than the written agreement suggests, the subdistrict court ruled. "For example, while delivery drivers can decide for themselves whether or not to accept an assignment, refusal or less frequent availability does subsequently work to their disadvantage in being awarded future assignments and earning bonuses. There is also little to no room for negotiating the rate."
CLA professional freight transport
The ruling states that the relationship between Deliveroo and its delivery drivers not only qualifies as an employment contract, the company is also subject to the collective labour agreement for professional freight transport. "The court agrees with the FNV that Deliveroo's delivery of meals should be qualified as transport of goods by road and therefore falls under the collective agreement for that sector." Deliveroo must now comply with the collective agreement retroactively.
Afbeelding: tviolet / Shutterstock.com
