May 2022 - Spain - Glovo App 23 / Riders

ECLI / Case number: ECLI:ES:JSO:2022:693

Authority: Social Court number 3 of Córdoba

Parties: Glovo App 23 / Riders

Subject: Qualification of the legal relationship between Glovo (platform) and its riders.

Summary of facts: Glovo is a food delivery app. The orders are sent to available riders through the platform. On the 27th November the High Court of Justice in Spain ruled that riders of Glovo are employees and not self-employed. Before, in september 2019 a Spanish court ruled that the riders were self-employed.

Legal question: Are Glovo riders self-employed or employees?

Considerations: There is a key element that allows us to understand why Glovo has the power of direction and organization with respect to all riders. Glovo knows the demand forecast for each moment, and for this reason it articulates a schedule selection system that guarantees that, at peak working hours, there is a sufficient number of riders on the streets. Formally riders are free to connect or not; but actually, Glovo devises a quality or evaluation system that fundamentally rewards riders who join in hours of high demand. It creates a self-assignment system. If workers do not opt for these hours and this form of work (70% of their assessment), they become unable to choose the following work schedules.

Ruling: Glovo are employees and not self-employed.