Food delivery service: Lieferando wants to hire drivers for an unlimited period

Many delivery service couriers are freelance workers, not covered by collective agreements – or only have temporary jobs. The German market leader Lieferando now wants to offer drivers permanent contracts.

Little wages, hardly any protection against accidents, a lot of stress, high time pressure and can be terminated almost at any time – drivers of fast food delivery services have repeatedly complained about their working conditions. Critics have already called them “slaves of the 21st century”. In Berlin, the “riders” – that’s what the riders call themselves – from Gorillas went on strike for several weeks in July and in some cases blocked department stores. Demonstrations against poor working conditions in delivery services were planned for this Friday in several cities.

Now the supplier Lieferando has announced that it will at least partially improve the conditions for employees. The German subsidiary of the Dutch industry giant Just Eat Takeaway wants to offer its 10,000 bicycle couriers permanent employment contracts. So far, most of the contracts have been limited in time.

More security for employees?

It is true that fixed-term contracts have usually been extended so far, according to the delivery service. But the new contracts offer more security. The offer of open-ended contracts should also apply to newly hired employees. With this step they want to set a new industry standard, said Takeaway Express boss Alexander Linden.

Lieferando has been employing couriers on a regular basis since it was launched in 2016. For other delivery services, on the other hand, the drivers are mainly freelancers. Deliveroo has around 100,000 “riders” in action, of which only 2000 are employed.

Spain requires courier drivers to be employed

Previously, Spain had passed a law to protect courier drivers. In the future, delivery service platforms in the country will have to contract all previously freelance courier drivers. The drivers are then entitled, among other things, to paid vacation and payment in the event of illness.

Little could change in terms of working conditions for the Lieferando “riders” who will be permanently employed in the future. Your hourly wage is ten euros, plus bonus payments. So far, drivers have mostly used their private bicycle as a work tool, for which they receive a few cents per kilometer, and their own smartphone.