The court ruled today that Deliveroo’s construction of self-employed workers without personnel is permissible. The subdistrict court has found that no relationship of authority is in place:
- after all, the delivery driver himself was able to decide whether or not to sign in for work and able to refuse orders;
- in addition, he was allowed to work in his own clothes and with his own thermo box, as long as these satisfied the safety requirements;
- he was also allowed to work for competing enterprises;
- the delivery driver is allowed to have himself be replaced and
- the delivery driver himself may send out invoices, although he may also choose to do so via Deliveroo as the latter has all data at its disposal;
This is an important decision for the so-called platform economy and companies like Deliveroo and Uber who qualify their staff as self-employed workers without personnel, in consequence of which these workers do not receive the same protection as employees who do have an employment contract (e.g. in case of dismissal and minimum wage). As self-employed workers, these workers are not eligible for pension accrual (via the employer) either.
The future of self-employed workers is under pressure. The government too is reconsidering its standpoint in this regard, which will result in the Dutch Assessment of Employment Relationships (Deregulation) Act (Wet DBA) being replaced.
Event 11 October 2018: The future of self-employed workers without personnel
On 11 October 2018, Liber Dock will host an event (in Dutch) on the future of self-employed workers without personnel, with speakers from the field, including the InnovatieLab of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce & ICT-Recht (is a smart contract the solution?), Uniforce (on the alternative: the private limited company working on the basis of billable hours (Dutch: declarabele uren B.V.) and a panel discussion with the Platform for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs (Dutch: Platform Zelfstandige Ondernemers, or PZO), Meijburg & Co (tax aspects) and the University of Amsterdam.
Interested in participating? Inquire about the conditions via event@liberdock.com. Unfortunately, attendance is limited, so please let us know soon.
