Court judgement on employment status (Deliveroo)
In February 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Deliveroo workers are employees and that they are therefore entitled to paid holiday leave and pension as well as hourly …
Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 412 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in January 2025 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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On 21 November 2023, the UK Supreme court has ruled that there is no employment relationship between Deliveroo riders and the platform due to a substitute clause used by Deliveroo. This judgement also provides riders no grounds for collective bargaining.
The substitution clause means that a rider can let other persons deliver orders through their Deliveroo account on their behalf. Moreover, other aspects which played into the decision of the court include that riders have the possibility to work for multiple platforms at once.
The substitute clause also gives rise to illegal work, as only those riders who have an account need to pass background checks, while for substitutes, there is no need to be of a certain age or to have the legal right to work.
This court ruling differs from similar cases seen across Europe, in which courts have found that Deliveroo riders are employees, for instance in the case of the Dutch Supreme Court.
In February 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Deliveroo workers are employees and that they are therefore entitled to paid holiday leave and pension as well as hourly …
On 24 March 2023 the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld a ruling by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, qualifying on-location platform-determined work by Deliveroo riders as employees. The Court …