Just Eat and Glovo trial ends over €295 million unfair competition claim

The trial in which Just Eat is seeking €295 million from Glovo for alleged unfair competition concluded in Barcelona on Friday. 

After a week in court, the proceedings centered on Just Eat’s accusation that Glovo gained an unfair market advantage by relying on freelance couriers instead of salaried employees.

Just Eat, headquartered in the Netherlands, claims that Glovo holds an "illicit" dominant position by "evading labor laws," and argues that this approach significantly reduced its own profit margins.

The company has accused the Barcelona-based Glovo of engaging in aggressive expansion tactics that are "impossible to replicate" within the bounds of labor compliance.

"Glovo has driven commission rates down through exclusivity agreements, using its position in the industry to do so, and that has severely eroded profit margins,” said Íñigo Barea, Just Eat’s managing director in Spain.

In response, Glovo contended that Just Eat is “inefficient” and is attempting to "win in court what it cannot win in the market," attributing the situation to what it called Just Eat's “disastrous business decisions.”

Glovo stated that 80% of its riders are now salaried employees, and that it has already adjusted its model accordingly, resulting in an increase in delivery costs from €4.50 to €6.

However, the company reiterated its preference for the freelance-based model. “We prefer it because the riders prefer it,” said Arnau Cortés, Glovo’s Vice President, during the trial.

Throughout the proceedings, Just Eat’s legal team criticized what it described as the "false freedom" granted to Glovo’s couriers, and accused the company of using "cosmetic tricks" to avoid paying into Spain’s Social Security system and complying with the country’s Workers’ Statute, obligations that apply to salaried employees.

Lawyers for Just Eat also argued that Glovo benefits from operational advantages such as faster service, better responsiveness during peak hours, and 24-hour availability, while avoiding the cost of continuous salaries, paid rest periods, and wage increases.

Just Eat is seeking €295 million in damages, with the court’s decision now pending.