Labor Inspection has regularized 41,000 false Glovo self-employed staff | Economy | EUROtoday

Javier Pérez (31 years outdated) obtained an SMS from the General Treasury of Social Security at first of 2019. “It was the communication of his registration as a Glovo worker,” explains this rider, who had been paying freelance charges to distribute for this firm. A Labor Inspection investigation concluded that he was a false self-employed one who, in actuality, needs to be an worker. He discharged her ex officio, a course of the corporate later appealed in courtroom. “The State recognizes me as an employee all this time and that is how it appears in my work life, but the company acts as if nothing had changed,” provides the employee.

Javier's ex officio discharge is without doubt one of the 40,889 that the Labor and Social Security Inspection has ordered since Glovo started its exercise (in 2014), in keeping with the registry accessed by EL PAÍS. To put this determine in context, it’s price specifying that the corporate of Catalan origin presently employs round 12,000 supply drivers, a determine that the corporate prefers to not element. Industry specialists level out that the precise variety of riders it's even greatergiven the rental of accounts to 3rd events, usually to immigrants who typically lack a piece allow.

Glovo responds to this newspaper that “All cases have been appealed and, therefore, are being prosecuted pending a final ruling.” Pérez's is one in all them, however, because the Inspection intervened, the administration locations him within the normal regime, that of workers. This is how this newspaper has been in a position to confirm it in its work life report. For that motive he was in a position to cease paying the self-employed price and, regardless of this, he continues delivering for Glovo. The firm refuses to elucidate if these 40,889 registrations coincide with their information, in the event that they assimilate the supply particular person as an worker after the Inspection ruling, in the event that they later break the connection with him or in what number of instances justice has dominated them proper.

The firm accumulates a debt with Social Security of round 200 million euros in unpaid installments (73.4 derived from liquidation minutes and 127.2 million for which a assure has been established) and round one other 50 million in penalties. , a punishment that places the corporate in danger: Delivery Hero (proprietor of Glovo) acknowledges that the authorized issues it’s dealing with threaten the viability of the corporate. Furthermore, as this newspaper introduced, the Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor's Office has opened a legal investigation into the corporate for working with false self-employed staff, which labor laws prohibits and the Penal Code punishes with jail sentences of six months to 6 years.

Glovo's stubbornness in its mannequin of false self-employment persists impassively. They insist on it nearly 4 years after the Supreme Court ruling that established doctrine on the matter (the riders are salaried), three years after the legislation ridera yr and a half after the tightening of the Penal Code and two months after the approval of a selected European customary.

How does an ex officio registration work?

María José Díaz, inspector and spokesperson for the Progressive Union of Labor Inspectors, is aware of first-hand how ex officio registrations are made, similar to the just about 41,000 notified concerning Glovo. “From the Inspection, once we have verified that this delivery person is a false self-employed person, we make an ex officio registration proposal. Almost automatically, the General Treasury of Social Security processes it and that is when the person receives the SMS that we all know, the one they send us when they register us,” she signifies.

“From then on,” he continues, “that person is registered like any employee and with the seniority that we have verified.” The firm has the correct to argue, to prosecute the discharge, however a latest regulatory change has modified this panorama. Now the discrepancy concerning the employment nature or not of a relationship can solely be raised administratively after which earlier than the contentious-administrative courtroom. There is not a previous ruling from the social jurisdiction. “For the ex officio procedures, the mechanisms established by the regulation are followed, prior to the changes introduced by the Employment Law of 2023,” Glovo specifies.

Once the employment standing of the connection is acknowledged, whether or not by administrative or judicial means, the rider You have the correct to assert the self-employment contributions that you’ve got paid to Social Security. He can demand it even when Glovo has not paid the unpaid contributions. “When you are recognized as an employee, you have four years to claim. It is a difficult, very complex process, for which many people do not even try,” provides Pérez, who can also be a spokesperson for CGT Riders. He factors out that one other downside is that as many hours are by no means included into the work profession as are literally put in.

When a supply driver is discharged ex officio, a wierd scenario happens: within the eyes of the administration he’s an worker, however there is no such thing as a employment contract concerned. Díaz specifies that it doesn’t matter: “The contract is not necessary to establish the employment relationship. Once it is broken, the worker has the right to his severance pay and the corresponding dismissal.” Pérez signifies that, from the instances that he has identified, this isn’t often the state of affairs: “There are no dismissal communications. They simply stop counting on you, they disconnect your account or you stop receiving orders and that's it. Then you have a few days to claim the dismissal, but no one usually does.”

The way forward for the sector

Nuria Soto, former Deliveroo supply girl and spokesperson for the Riders X Rights platform, regrets the scenario wherein many supply staff discover themselves regardless of the legislative and judicial effort deployed. “It is striking that these things continue to happen, that we continue fighting against the use of false self-employed workers. And there are many more of those 41,000, those are the ones that the Inspection has discovered. We have hope with criminal proceedings,” he says.

The tightening of the Penal Code, with the resultant jail sentences that can lead to these accountable for corporations, has triggered a stir within the sector. Glovo is awaiting how the investigation by the Barcelona Prosecutor's Office progresses, pushed by a report from the Ministry of Labor that detailed lots of of instances of self-employed supply staff who, with the legislation in hand, needs to be salaried.

Soto additionally criticizes that the corporate barely satisfies the money owed contracted with Social Security. The National Court granted the corporate between November 2023 and January the precautionary suspension of the quick cost of as much as a dozen agency minutes, which added as much as a complete quantity of 67.3 million euros. This was accomplished in 5 rulings signed by the contentious-administrative chamber, in response to as many appeals filed by the corporate. Glovo's argument for accessing these deferrals is that their quick cost might “cause damages to the plaintiff entity of special importance and difficult to repair.” In all its assets, Glovo alleges the numerous losses it anticipated for the 2023 monetary yr: 209 million euros.

The head of digitalization at UGT, José Varela, believes that the determine of 41,000 official registrations is “the confirmation of the failure of a business model that consists of breaking the rules.” He remembers that the legislation rider It was permitted with the assistance of the employers' affiliation and the not too long ago permitted European laws, which prolong the protecting umbrella of supply staff to different actions associated to platforms.

“The persistence in using false self-employed workers surprises me because others understood that this was irrevocable and are surviving.” He refers to competing corporations similar to Just Eat, which does work with workers. The different main participant within the sector, Uber Eats, modified its mannequin after the legislation rider and turned to freelancers once more after just a few months. “There have always been food delivery people, it's nothing new. The different thing is trying to paint them as entrepreneurs and not as precarious workers. Anyone who wants to participate in this sector must accept the law and provide stability to employees,” concludes Varela.

Follow all the knowledge Economy y Business in Facebook y Xor in our e-newsletter semanal

_