A former courier for US food delivery company Grubhub was actually an employee and not self-employed, a federal court ruled. According to the man’s lawyer, the ruling could have important consequences for other platform companies in the United States. This is an issue that also plays a role in the Netherlands.
According to the verdict, Grubhub still has to compensate the man for the time he worked for the company. That was between 2015 and 2016. Grubhub, which, like the Dutch Thuisbezorgd.nl, is part of Just Eat Takeaway, must ensure that it has received at least the minimum wage that applies to employees. Grubhub doesn’t have to pay him overtime because he didn’t work more than 40 hours in a week.
The company disagrees with the ruling and is considering further steps. Grubhub’s attorney responded to a special rule that applies in California, where this case is taking place. As a result, platform companies like Uber and Lyft, and thus Grubhub as well, would be allowed to treat their employees as independent contractors, he says.
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the Supreme Court recently came to a conclusion similar to that of the American court. The Dutch highest court has upheld previous lower court rulings that the carriers of industry peer Deliveroo are in fact employees and not independent contractors. According to Evert Verhulp, a professor of labor law at the University of Amsterdam, the Supreme Court’s ruling should also give pause to other sectors that work with the self-employed, such as childcare and healthcare.
For many companies in the Netherlands, it is still attractive to hire self-employed workers, in part because the government won’t enforce it until 2025. Verhulp called this last week in a conversation with the ANP “surprising”. He stressed that most employers are likely to take action only in the course of 2024, for example by hiring self-employed workers without employees.
Source: BNR
Andrew Dwight is an author and economy journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and a passion for analyzing economic trends and news. With a talent for breaking down complex economic concepts into easily understandable terms, Andrew has become a respected voice in the field of economics journalism.
