Deliveroo eyes leaving Spain as riders become staff

Deliveroo eyes leaving Spain as riders become staff

MADRID: Deliveroo’s trademark green rucksacks may soon disappear from Spanish streets after food delivery firm said it was considering leaving that market where its riders will soon be recognized as staff. “Deliveroo is intending to consult with its employees over ending its operations in Spain,” the app-driven food delivery firm said in a statement just two weeks before a deadline for compliance with a key labor law reform.

In mid-May, Spain became the first country within the European Union to approve legislation that recognizes delivery riders working for firms such as Deliveroo or UberEats as staff. It is the first European legislation that explicitly regulates the status of delivery workers, who get around on bikes and motorcycles and whose numbers have exploded in recent years, despite precarious working conditions. Under terms of the reform, companies must treat their riders as staff and pay contributions so they can receive social benefits, with firms given three months to comply.

The deadline expires on August 12. Although the reform would have an effect, Deliveroo said it was “not the reason why it considered” leaving the Spanish market, which was for “purely economic reasons”, a company spokesman told AFP. Deliveroo, he insisted, had “the financial capacity