The Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld fines imposed on three former Deliveroo executives for disguised employment, but quashed their prison sentences.
The three, along with their employer, had been found guilty in 2022 of employing delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, from 2015 to 2017.
This was the first criminal trial in France concerning ‘uberisation,’ with the key issue being the real status of these drivers.
The court imposed a fine of €375,000, the maximum penalty, on Deliveroo. The UK-based company opted not to go ahead with an appeal.
Two former French executives who worked at Deliveroo between 2015 and 2017 were initially sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term and a €30,000-fine for “hidden work.”
A third manager found guilty of complicity with the system received a four-month suspended prison term and a fine of €10,000.
The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed both the guilty verdict and the fines on Thursday, but reversed the suspended prison sentences.
