Uber Eats bows down to union pressure and will payroll riders

Food delivery firm Uber Eats is to stop using freelancers from next year and will instead hire in its riders via a staffing agency, the Telegraaf reported on Wednesday.

Uber Eats was the last meal delivery firm in the country to still use self-employed riders but has been experimenting with temp agencies Randstad and Adecco for several months, the paper said.

The switch means riders will have to register for work with the agency. The company says it has taken the decision because of changes in the rules for self-employment and several court cases.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that riders working for meal delivery service Deliveroo are employees, not self-employed.

Deliveroo stopped operating in the Netherlands before the Supreme Court ruling.

The Uber Eats move is a victory for the FNV trade union federation which has for years pressed for change and demanded companies employ the riders who work for them. As employees, for example, they build up unemployment and sick pay rights.

The biggest Dutch delivery firm Thuisbezorgd has employed its riders for several years.

The move will not impact taxi drivers who work for Uber’s taxi company, even though a court case on that issue is still pending.