Judge rules over 3,500 Glovo couriers were misclassified as self-employed

A judge in Barcelona has ruled that 3,572 couriers who worked for Glovo between 2015 and 2018 were misclassified as self-employed, according to SER radio and confirmed by the Riders collective.

While the delivery company has faced similar rulings in the past, this case affects the largest number of workers to date, according to the collective.

The judge sided with the complaint filed by the Labor Inspectorate, after a 2019 inspection of the company found irregularities.

Glovo had contested the Labor Inspectorate's findings, arguing that the relationship with couriers was commercial in nature.

The judge's ruling states that Glovo set the price of the service and riders' pay. The company also bore the economic risk of the operation, managed couriers' schedules and compensated clients in cases of theft.

Together, these factors led the judge to conclude that an employment relationship existed between the two parties.

€295m unfair competition claim

In a separate trial this month, Barcelona-based Glovo stated that 80% of its riders are now salaried employees.

Just Eat, headquartered in the Netherlands, is seeking €295 million from Glovo for alleged unfair competition. Just Eat accuses its rival of gaining an unfair market advantage by relying on freelance couriers instead of salaried employees.