"Food delivery firm Deliveroo facing €1.3m Social Security bill over work contracts", 3 July 2018

Spain’s labor inspectorate is turning up the pressure on British food delivery company Deliveroo and its business model. After opening investigations into the firm in Valencia and Madrid, operations in Barcelona are now under the spotlight due to the situation of its bicycle delivery couriers, whom the company considers to be self-employed, but whom labor inspectors argue should be on proper employee contracts.

If the labor inspectors get their way, Deliveroo will have to sign up hundreds of workers with the Spanish Social Security system and pay their monthly quotas, plus a fine of 20% on what is due, meaning a potential cost for the company of €1.31 million for contracts of around 18 months. The company has two weeks to present arguments in its defense... [also refers to Uber and AirBnB]