Those who are saddened by a political debate overshadowed by the war in Ukraine should come and attend the hearing which opened on Tuesday, March 8, before the 31st chamber of the Paris criminal court. On the bench of the defendants, three former leaders of the Deliveroo platform, and the company itself as a legal person, who are accused of using “independent workers” – couriers – who, being independent, do not would have only the name but would present the immense advantage, for the company, to evade the social charges.
Facing them, more than a hundred couriers or former couriers who have joined as civil parties to ask the courts to recognize the ” subordination link “ which binds them to the platform and would impose the same duties on them but none of the rights recognized for employees. The Penal Code classifies this offense as ” hidden work “. This is at the heart of the debate on the “uberization” of employment, the issue of which escapes none of the parties. And this is the first time that he has been brought before a criminal court.
At the beginning are complaints lodged by couriers, supplemented by investigations by several regional directorates of labor and employment and the central office for the fight against illegal work as well as by reports from the labor inspectorate, for the years 2015 and 2017. The dates are important, they relate to the period which saw the advent of these platforms – Deliveroo-France was born in 2015 – and several regulatory adjustments have taken place since then. For this period, Urssaf assessed the amount of social contributions evaded at 6.4 million euros.
Two questions
Two questions are put to the criminal court: from 2015 to 2017, was this company only a platform for ” linking “ between customers and restaurateurs, or has it organized a real home meal delivery service? Was the contract that bound her to the couriers a provision of services or did it constitute a misuse of labor law?
On the first day of the trial – it is scheduled until March 16 – witnesses sketched out the complexity of the debate. The first, Arnaud Mias, cited by the prosecution, teaches sociology at Paris-Dauphine University and has participated in research on the functioning of these platforms, including Deliveroo. Based on interviews with delivery people, he distinguishes three categories among them: those who see in this activity “fun and sporty, without the constraint of a boss, the advantages of a student job” offering them the means to finance outings and leisure activities; from “Bicycle delivery enthusiasts”, among which the strongest criticism of the platforms is expressed; and a third population, “in a very degraded social and economic situation”, came to this courier experience because she is “the only one to be easily accessible and without training” and which expresses the satisfaction of having at least one job.
You have 62.41% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.