“Has the Rider Law served any purpose? The answer is categorically yes.” This is the mantra that Just Eat repeats in a context in which everything is a problem with the regulations coined by Yolanda Díaz, Minister of Labour, almost a year ago. To the company deliverywhich balances a report in conjunction with Esade, It is a milestone in the sector. One that combats legal insecurity for an increasingly numerous labor group.
Just Eat was one of those that, from the first moment, positioned itself on the side of the legislator. “It is a strategic sector that deserves its own regulatory framework,” Patrik Bergareche points out to the media. Materialized in the form of the Rider Law, it was a text that came out not without some controversy. It was an agreement that neither party liked.; and that, in fact, remains unconvinced. Now, after a course with her in tow, the delivery company points out that it is the way to go and a point of attention from the rest of the European countries to regulate the business on their own land. “It supposes an anticipation of the scenarios that can be presented to us in the sector”, points out José María Lasalle, from Esade.
However, and after the publication of the study, many questions remain. Also chiaroscuro that, not even with the Law in hand, the sector is capable of facing.
A look at the data –just some–
The reality is that there is little data on the delivery sector. On this basis, any analysis of the effect of the Rider Law sins of being inconclusive or biased. The Esade report, however, is precisely aware of this point.
Beyond the information that public institutions may present in their social security affiliation figures and sectoral data, this business faces the private data of companies. None of them provide conclusive information on the number of riders that operate directly, indirectly or under any type of labor association. They are all estimates, hundreds up or hundreds down.
With this in hand, the Just Eat report concludes that “the number of workers receiving adjusted attribution has increased significantly.” In 167%, specifically. It’s a logical thing. Before the Rider Law, there were few who had riders for others.
The effect is palpable. Before summer 2021, the number of hired riders was residual. Most of them associated with companies in the sector, but unrelated to the large technology companies that have motivated the Rider Law itself. Now, growth can be seen with two variables in hand: the Rider Law and the labor reform, also by Yolanda Díaz, to attack the temporary contract sector. The decrease in recent months responds to the adjustments linked to the economic tension and inflation in the deliveryof which several have already been victims players of the ultrafast last mile sector: Gorillas or GoPuff among others.
In any case, does it show a true picture of the evolution of rider recruitment? The short answer is no. The long one is that, in the first place, leaves aside the delivery men who remain under the self-employed regime. Let us remember that Glovo, in his personal reading of the Yolanda Díaz regulations, decided not to follow the precepts of the Rider Law. Since then, he alone counts 2,000 hired riders and an estimated nearly 12,000 under “his new way of hiring freelancers.” With a quick look at the data in the graph, we can see that in August those hired were less than those controlled by Glovo. And to the equation we must add that Uber Eats, not without previous complaints, followed the path of the Spanish unicorn in its mission with autonomous riders. How many are there on one side and how many on the other? The number is not known, but the world of the self-employed could be on a par with the contracted ones.
On the other hand, there is the issue of subcontracting. Still under review for the illegal assignment of workers in several companies –Just Eat has already faced a fine precisely for this issue–, it is one of the pending accounts that is being reviewed in the regulations themselves; also the employment status of these riders. But how many of these riders are direct hires and how many have been delegated to third parties? From Esade they point out that it is not a fact that can be known. Which opens a gap in the state of the sector. Uber Eats, in addition to recovering the figure of the self-employed, operates entirely under this formula. In the case of Just Eat – which does not provide data either – they appeal to the fact that it is less than its contracted workforce, which, today, amounts to about 2,000 riders.
The economic effects of the Rider Law
“It can be stated that the Rider Law has not had a negative impact on the turnover of companies in the sector,” they point out in the report. But the cost has not been zero. They are aware of it.
We return to the usual mantra. Without Glovo and Uber Eats, let us remember that they are the largest in the sector, without having to assume hiring costs, the ball remains in the court of those who have paid attention to the Rider Law. And here they are aware of the effect:
“This is dusting SMEs, those with 30 delivery men. Because the ability to compete on equal terms is complicated. We (Just Eat) have the advantage that we can finance it. But this is a challenge and as the report points out , you have to be careful because it has to be fulfilled by everyone”.
Patrik Bergareche
In other words, it has not been at zero cost. At least for the little ones. The great ones, those who do not appear, indeed, enjoy good health. In addition to the fall of a sector that continues to seek its definitive readjustment after the success of the pandemic.
If the Rider Law is not fulfilled, can it be considered a success?
There are no half measures with the looks to the bad guy. Glovo is to blame for all the evils in the new post-Rider Law era. At the time, Uber Eats pointed to the Spanish unicorn as guilty of a competition problem; these then joined the league of the self-employed. Just Eat continues to point to the technology Founded by Oscar Pierre. “The implementation of compliance with the Law must be reinforced to avoid possible situations of unfair competition,” they point out from the report.
With this, can the Rider Law be considered a success? “I think that the blame would not be laid so much on the Law, but on the sanctioning mechanisms and the times of the legal mechanism,” Bergareche explains to Hypertext. In other words, the big ones have to comply or there is nothing to do. The problem is not with the law, it is with those who have to carry it out and ensure that it is complied with.
With that, and with all the data on the table, it will be necessary to see if the success of the Rider Law goes further what has been seen so far. And yes, as they say in Just Eat, it has had the expected result.
Has the Rider Law been of any use? The answer is categorically yes, but perhaps not for what was expected.