Businessnewshubb
Advertisement
  • Home
  • World
  • Business News
  • Markets
  • Startup
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • Business News
  • Markets
  • Startup
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Businessnewshubb
No Result
View All Result
Home Startup

Uber’s food delivery platform agrees to pay severance to couriers let go ahead of Spain’s Riders Law • TechCrunch

December 13, 2022


Uber’s delivery business in Spain has settled with local labor unions which were challenging its dismissal of more than 4,000 riders in August last year ahead of a labor law reform coming into force — acknowledging the dismissed couriers as staff and agreeing to pay severance equivalent to 45 days’ salary per year worked (via Reuters).

In a statement emailed to TechCrunch, an Uber spokesperson said:

“This agreement with worker unions in Spain aims at compensating couriers who were not able to access our app following the introduction of the Rider Law in 2021. We have since then launched a new model in full compliance with the new local regulatory framework and remain open to dialogue with all relevant parties to continue to improve independent work for all.”

The ‘Riders Law’, as the 2021 Spanish labour law reform is known, was aimed at platforms perceived to be falsely classifying delivery couriers as self-employed — introducing a presumption of employment for those providing such services through digital platforms.

Uber’s decision to let go of thousands of couriers ahead of this change in their employment status was dubbed a de facto collective dismissal by unions FeSMC-UGT and CCOO-Servicios — who challenged its action before the National Court. The court initially dismissed the challenge but in a ruling in July the Supreme Court revoked the lower court’s decision, deciding that the unions could challenge the dismissal and triggering a retrial.

Uber appears to have settled to avoid this, as the retrial in the National Court was scheduled for today.

The unions said 4,404 couriers who were dismissed by Uber last year should receive compensation under the settlement.

COMUNICADO | Portier Eats Spain, la división de reparto de Uber, reconoce el despido colectivo de más de 4.000 personas repartidoras en agosto de 2021 https://t.co/qIN1RjdxHj

— FeSMC.UGT (@FeSMC_UGT) December 13, 2022

“This is a historic agreement,” they write in a press release (which we’ve translated from Spanish). “For the first time a collective dismissal of delivery people has been recognized in court and guarantees the collection of compensation for each of those affected, in amounts that are better than those established in law.”

Delivery workers who are affected by the settlement should receive an email from Uber’s local delivery firm, which is called Portier Eats Spain, informing them of the agreement and the amount of compensation they should receive, per the unions.

In order to claim compensation due they need to reply within a month of receipt of the message, accepting the compensation and confirming their bank details for transferring the payment — which should be remitted within four months.

Affected couriers who no longer have access to the email address they previously used to communicate with Portier Eats Spain are instructed to contact FeSMC-UGT immediately by email — at plataformasdigitales@fesmcugt.org — in order for the union to manage the payment of their compensation.

Change of compliance gear

While Uber has agreed to recognize that these former couriers were employees, it has recently changed how it responds to Spain’s Riders Law.

An Uber spokesperson told us the company now operates two different models in Spain — one of which entails working with third party fleet partners who employ couriers directly. But it has also, since September, launched a tweaked model which enables couriers to remain independent (i.e. self employed) without — it claims –breaching the Rider Law.

“Our new model allows couriers who want to remain independent to deliver in compliance with Spain’s labor regulations. This model involves structural changes to further enhance couriers’ control over their experience with the app, including the ability to set their own fares,” its spokesperson said.

Delivery platforms in Spain responded in a variety of ways to the change in the labor law last year — including pulling out of the market altogether (in the case of Deliveroo). Others claimed to have adapted their models, such as homegrown rival Glovo, which claimed it would take on some riders as staff but does not appear to have employed the vast majority of its couriers.

That led to some tension with Uber — which earlier this year penned an open letter accusing Glovo of flouting the labor reform and complaining it was unable to contract enough couriers to secure its service because so many were opting for ongoing ‘self-employment’ with Glovo.

Fast forward a few months and Uber has reworked its playbook to steer closer to Glovo’s.

That may not be the soundest compliance strategy, however, as the latter continues to face regulatory bumps on home turf — such as a $78M penalty it was hit with in September for employment law breaches attached to its employment classification of riders.

The company claimed that sanction pre-dated the entry into force of the Riders Law but fresh challenges to its tweaked model — and to Uber’s — are all but certain.

Zooming out, last year, European Union lawmakers proposed a bloc-wide reform aimed at improving conditions for workers on gig economy platforms — proposing legislation to bring in a rebuttable presumption of employment across EU Member States with the goal of enforcing minimum standards in areas like pay, conditions and social protections.

However the file — and the proposed legal presumption of employment for platform workers — has proved divisive, as Euractive reported recently, with divisions emerging between national delegations and no compromise position yet adopted by the Council.





Source link

Previous Post

Innovobot holds initial close of targeted $40 million fund to invest in “deep tech for good”

Next Post

SOL Hits 3-Week High, as ADA Consolidates Ahead of FOMC Meeting – Bitcoin News

Next Post

SOL Hits 3-Week High, as ADA Consolidates Ahead of FOMC Meeting – Bitcoin News

Ferme d’Hiver raises $46 million CAD to replace 10 percent of Canada’s strawberry imports

Why the SPAC route makes sense for Getaround • TechCrunch

Biggest Movers: DOGE, LTC Near 3-Week Lows on Thursday – Market Updates Bitcoin News

Hit It & Quit It with Sarah Durham, Joel Libava, & Brandi Mitchell » Succeed As Your Own Boss

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Can 4 activist investors play nice in the Salesforce sandbox? • TechCrunch

by admin
February 3, 2023

Salesforce finds itself in a rather unusual situation, with four activist investors operating inside the company at the same time:...

Shopify invests in US-based e-commerce analytics aggregator Triple Whale

by admin
February 3, 2023

Triple Whale helps Shopify merchants unify business metrics into one dashboard. Shopify has made an investment into United States-based Triple...

DOJ-Appointed US Trustee Objects to Subpoena Request in FTX Bankruptcy Case – Bitcoin News

by admin
February 3, 2023

Following a request from FTX lawyers to subpoena FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and members of his family, the U.S....

Apple, Google and Amazon post disappointing results as tech giants face gloomy economic outlook

by admin
February 3, 2023

Apple, Amazon and Alphabet all posted disappointing quarterly results this week, while Facebook parent Meta bucked the gloomy trend in...

business-news-hubb-white

© 2022 Business News Hubb All rights reserved.

Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement unless specified. By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Categories

  • Home
  • World
  • Business News
  • Markets
  • Startup
  • Contact Us

Newsletter Sign Up.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • Business News
  • Markets
  • Startup
  • Contact Us

© 2022 Business News Hubb All rights reserved.