Finnish delivery giant Wolt won a landmark case at an administrative court in Hämeenlinna on Wednesday, as its couriers were ruled to be entrepreneurs, not employees.
The court assessed the working relationship between Wolt and its couriers based on four criteria, and found that two of the four did not match an employer-employee relationship.
For example, the court noted that the courier does not have to carry out the work for the company personally, but can delegate the task to a substitute or a subcontractor.
The ruling also found that couriers do not work under the management or supervision of the company, as there are no fixed working hours and the courier is not obliged to accept the work offered.
"The mere fact that the company supervises the performance of the work and that the company determines the amount of remuneration to be paid for the work cannot be regarded as work carried out in an employment relationship," the ruling stated.
Admin court ruling reverses Avi view
The court's verdict therefore overturned a previous decision, made in November 2021 by the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland (Avi), which decreed that couriers for the app-based service should be considered employees of the company, and not entrepreneurs.
The authority argued at the time that several factors indicated that Wolt couriers were explicitly employed by the company and no one else.
Following that decision, Avi called again on Wolt to keep a record of couriers' working hours, in accordance with Finland's Working Time Act.
Wolt refused to comply with that instruction.
"This is a historic decision in Finland. This is the first time that a court has taken a holistic view of the Wolt delivery model and ruled that this is not an employment relationship. We are pleased and relieved," the company's Country Manager for Finland Joel Järvinen said.
Jaana Ylitalo of the service sector union PAM, which counts Wolt couriers among its members, said the administrative court's decision was just the latest episode in the "to-ing and fro-ing" over the status of couriers.
"Decisions have been made here in different directions, in some it has been determined that they are entrepreneurs, in others that they are employees. From the point of view of the couriers, the legal situation is very unsatisfactory," Ylitalo told Yle, adding that the union will continue to negotiate with the company over the employment status of couriers.
The role of food couriers and other gig workers is being discussed in many countries around the world.
Earlier this month, the EU reached a provisional agreement aimed at improving the "working conditions of persons performing platform work", but the deal has since run into difficulties due to opposition from some member states.
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