Deliveroo France was sentenced on Tuesday to a fine of 375,000 euros for “hidden work”, the maximum provided for by law. The Paris court imposed this sanction during the first criminal trial in France of “uberization” with the issue of the true status of its deliverers. The court fully followed the requisitions of the prosecution who, during the trial last month, had requested the maximum penalty of 375,000 euros in fines against the platform, as well as a one-year suspended prison sentence against two former French managers of the company. “The offense of concealed work“is established, said the president of the 31st chamber of the judicial court when announcing the decision.
The Deliveroo group has indicated that it “categorically” contests this decision and plans to appeal. Deliveroo was also ordered to pay 50,000 euros in damages to each of the five unions (CGT, Union Solidaires, Sud commerces et services, Sud commerces et services Ile-de-France and Syndicat des transports Légères) which had civil parties for “non-pecuniary damage”. The two leaders who served between 2015 and 2017 were also found guilty of “hidden work”.
A third executive was found guilty of complicity in concealed work and received a four-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 euros. This court decision must be displayed, in particular in front of the premises of Deliveroo for a month, said the court. Deliveroo is responsible for “an instrumentalization and misappropriation of labor regulation“, with the aim of organizing a “systemic concealment“of delivery jobs who should have been salaried and not self-employed, had estimated during the trial the prosecutor Céline Ducournau whose opinion was confirmed by the court.
There “fraud“implementation had the sole purpose of employing”at a lower cost“his deliverymen, and no matter if some are”satisfied“of this status or se”feel free“, she had indicated.