Spain’s homegrown on-demand delivery app, Glovo — which since the end of last year has been majority owned by Germany’s Delivery Hero — has been fined 79 million (~$79 million) for breaches of labor laws related to the employment classification of couriers, local press reported yesterday.
El Pais reported that the record sanction for the company was issued for a finding that the startup had 10,614 workers falsely classed as “autónomos” (aka self employed) in Barcelona and Valencia, after the Department of Labour found the couriers were in an employment relationship with the company.
Labor minister, Yolanda Díaz, accused Glovo of harming the rights of workers and obstructing the Department’s inspection, El Pais reported. A minute part of the fine was issued for this obstruction — with the bulk (63.2 million) pertaining to misclassified couriers working in Barcelona (where more than 8,300 riders were found to have been falsely classed as self employed), and a smaller chunk (15.7 million) issued over the close to 2,300 misclassified riders in Valencia.
The total size of the penalty was equivalent to over 13% of Glovo’s 2021 revenue, per the newspaper.
Glovo has previously been sanctioned smaller amounts for similar labor infractions following inspections in other regions in Spain, including Tarragona, Girona, Lleida and Seville.
A self employment classification means riders would not receive the full sweep of benefits provided to employees. Autónomos are also typically...
Patrick Brown has been mayor for almost eight years and one of the many promises he has failed to keep is the one that angers Brampton voters more than any other. For almost a decade he has claime...