A Brussels court is poised to issue a definitive ruling on the employment status of Deliveroo couriers in a landmark case that could decide the future of food delivery platforms in Belgium.
By the end of this year, the Brussels Labour Court is expected to determine whether couriers for the UK-headquartered food delivery service can benefit from a favourable tax regime deriving from Deliveroo's status as a "person-to-person" (or "P2P") platform.
Under this scheme, which was first introduced under the aegis of the "collaborative economy" law in 2016, Deliveroo is treated as a mere intermediary which connects people who want to order food and those who deliver it. This special legal status allows Deliveroo couriers to pay just 10.7% in withholding tax on the first €7,170 of annual income earned through the service.
Crucially, it also exempts the platform from paying its couriers any social benefits including sick pay, pensions, and healthcare coverage. According to the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC), 84% of Deliveroo's 2,000 or so Belgium-based couriers earned money from the platform under this tax scheme in 2021.
Deliveroo gained this preferential P2P status just a year after the platform arrived in Belgium in 2015. At the time it was heavily supported by Alexander De Croo, then Minister of Development Cooperation.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
But Deliveroo's status was challenged by couriers, trade unions, and other workers' groups. In 2021, Belgium's Labour Court ruled that those who earn a living by delivering food via the platform were not its employees.
However, the court also decreed that "the income received by Deliveroo couriers cannot benefit from the [collaborative economy] regime" as they are "carrying out a professional activity".
The court's decision enraged workers' groups, who argued that they are de facto employees of the platform and so should be legally treated as such. It also angered Deliveroo, which maintains that it is a mere P2P service and (therefore) is not the legal employer of its couriers. Both sides subsequently appealed the decision.
Hearings for the case are being held this week on Thursday and Friday. The court's decision is expected by the end of the year. If the ruling is against Deliveroo it is likely that the company will pull out of Belgium. Already it left Spain two years ago after the Spanish government passed pro-worker legislation.
'The government must act'
It is widely anticipated that the court will rule in the couriers' favour. This expectation is largely down to the Federal Government's "Jobs Deal" legislation passed last year, which decreed that delivery service couriers are entitled to the legal presumption of being the platform's employees.
"Workers who are tied to a particular platform are clearly employees of a platform," Economy Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne said at the time. "In this case, the platform must play its role of employer, with all the obligations that ensue."
Economy Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
Speaking to Le Soir, Martin Willems of the CSC argued that the Jobs Deal legally obliges the court to rule in favour of the couriers. He insisted that this agreement was "cast into a law that was passed by Parliament in 2022". Willems argued: "It is not a question of concluding a new agreement... It is a question of enforcing what this government has already decided a long time ago."
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But for its part, Deliveroo has stated that it expects the court to uphold its prior ruling that the platform's couriers are not technically its employees.
"Deliveroo offers flexible working, which is highly appreciated by its couriers working with the platform in Belgium," a spokesperson told l'Echo. "Deliveroo firmly maintains its position as explained to the Court. The Court recognised the couriers as self-employed workers and Deliveroo remains confident that the Labour Court will confirm this decision."
Founded in the UK in 2013, Deliveroo now operates in ten countries including France, Italy, and Ireland. It is estimated that 150,000 people currently deliver food via the platform worldwide. Last year it reported a global gross profit of £643 million, up from £495 million in 2021.
