Online supermarket Picnic does not have to comply with the collective labour agreement for large supermarket chains, outgoing social affairs minister Mariëlle Paul said on Monday.

The decision ends uncertainty for the company, whose chief executive Michiel Muller had warned it could leave the Netherlands without the waiver.

Earlier this year the court of appeal sided with trade unions and ruled that Picnic should fall under the supermarket agreement which, Muller said, would increase its costs by 40%.

Paul stepped in to take a decision after talks between Picnic and the unions failed to reach an agreement. The unions and grocery delivery companies have been at odds for years over which pay and conditions deal should be applied to workers and the first court case against Picnic took place in 2019.

Fast supermarket delivery group Flink also has the same exemption.

Picnic now falls under the agreement for small retailers such as cheese shops and grocers. Paul said the exemption was justified because Picnic’s business model is clearly different from that of supermarkets and the company has negotiated its own labour contract with staff.

Picnic, which has no physical shops, has been delivering groceries in the Netherlands since 2015. It has since expanded into Germany and France. In 2023 the company booked a loss of almost €221 million, on net sales of €1.2 billion.