Spain: ‘Riders’ law recognizes employee status for home delivery platform workers

Spain’s government has approved the so-called ‘Riders’ Law, which frames the status of home delivery platform workers. The text, published as a decree-law in the Official State Bulletin (BOE) on 12 May, recognizes these workers as employees, whereas until now they were considered self-employed. This change now requires companies to pay social contributions for these employees and it also opens their right to leave periods and social protection.
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These platforms will have three months to regularize the situation of their newly recognized employees. The decree-law grants employees the right to be informed of the algorithms used by companies to configure their professional activities. “A young person on a bicycle following instructions on a phone app is not an entrepreneur,” commented the Minister of Labor in presenting the text, which she called “a pioneer in Europe.” The ‘Riders’ law has come about from an agreement previously negotiate

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