On Tuesday 19 April, the first criminal trial in France against ‘uberization’ took place at the court of Paris. The challenge ? Investigate, check and record the status of deliverers. After this first day, the punishment fell on the well-known home delivery platform Deliveroo. The company now faces the maximum penalty for “hidden work”a fine of 375,000 euros, a suspended sentence of one year for two former French top executives and a fine of four months and 10,000 euros for a third executive.
“These delivery guys now have a recognized victim statusyou. With an upcoming labor court, they can now enjoy paid leave, from retroactive pay to minimum wage.
But that’s not all, Deliveroo France has also been ordered to pay €50,000 in damages to each of the five unions that had brought civil proceedings against “moral prejudice”† The group is contesting this decision and plans to appeal. For Master Kevin Mention, lawyer of dozens of deliverers, this process “a first battle has been won”as he explains to France Blue†