Already dragged before the prud’hommes for individual cases in France, this is the first time that Deliveroo has appeared before the criminal justice system, with three of its former leaders. At the end of the trial, on March 16, the prosecutor, Céline Ducournau, requested the maximum sentence against the British company for concealed work, reports theAFP.
A bundle of clues proves a relationship of subordination
Between the arrival in France of Deliveroo in 2015, two years after its birth, and 2017, the company is accused by the public prosecutor of having implemented ” an instrumentalization and a diversion of the regulation of work with the aim of organizing a systemic dissimulation “.
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According to the investigation carried out by the Central Office for the Fight against Illegal Labor, a body of evidence attests to a relationship of subordination between Deliveroo and its deliverers. Contrary to what the company claims, it is not simply a platform for connecting restaurateurs and delivery people, but an organization whose core business is delivery.
The prosecution cited the wearing of the uniform, proposed formations as concordant clues. The zoning of deliveries, the reservation of the best slots for the most efficient deliverers, proves that they are self-employed in name only, given that their freedom is reduced by the platform.
Before the Paris Criminal Court, Céline Ducournau requested 375,000 euros in fines and the publication and dissemination of the court decision in the Official Journal, in front of the premises of Deliveroo, on the home page of its site and its application for two months. In addition, the prosecutor requested the confiscation of 3 million euros seized during the procedure.
The prosecution was more tender with the executives of the company. Adrien Falcon and Hugues Decosse, successive leaders of Deliveroo France over the period taken into account by the courts, risk a one-year suspended prison sentence and 30,000 euros in fines. Élie de Moustier, former director of operations, faces four months’ imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 euros.
The Deliveroo system attacked from all sides on the European continent
This moderation aims to differentiate a system, uberization in short, and those who put it to work by following the directives from across the Channel. It is the great regret of the prosecutor, the absence, on the dock, of William Shu, the big boss of the British company.
France is following the path opened up by a number of European countries over the past two years. Whether it’s Uber or Deliveroo or both, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy have demanded to pay the delivery people of the platforms, accusing them of concealed work.
The European Commission itself has proposed a draft directive in December 2021 to establish a presumption of employment and put an end to “false self-employed” on platforms. This text must be discussed in the European Parliament and the European Council in the coming months. For Deliveroo France, the court verdict is expected on April 19.