Supreme Court sides with Deliveroo couriers over contract, pension payments

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Deliveroo deliverers fall under the collective labor agreement for professional freight transport. The meal delivery company, which has no longer been active in the Netherlands since November 2022, must also pay pension contributions retroactively.

After the appeal, Deliveroo appealed to the Supreme Court in December 2021 and found, among other things, that delivering meals by bicycle should not fall under the heading 'transport of goods by road'. The judge ruled yes and found that the core activity of the originally British company was delivering meals.

Trade union FNV, which is involved in the legal battle, believes it is a ruling with far-reaching consequences. FNV director Anja Dijkman said that "Employees are covered by a collective labor agreement with a fixed hourly wage, allowances, and holiday pay and their wages are continued to be paid during waiting time, illness, and days off. Deliveroo may have left the Netherlands, but this ruling also applies to other companies, such as Uber Eats who think they can pump up their profits on the backs of the delivery people."

According to NOS, the FNV is currently preparing similar lawsuits against other meal delivery companies such as Uber and Temper. "And we also believe that Uber Eats should adjust its business model in response to this ruling," FNV director Anja Dijkman told NOS. "We want enforcement, because it cannot be the case that these types of companies continue in the same way in this country."

The ruling of the highest court means that the decisions of the court and court are now final. The highest court ruled in another case in March that Deliveroo delivery drivers are employees and not self-employed.

The case came to court for the first time in 2019. The FNV trade union was already proven right about the collective labor agreement issue. The union has filed lawsuits against several companies in the so-called platform economy, where workers often perform jobs as self-employed persons and therefore have fewer rights.