Spain's Labour Ministry has fined Glovo, the local business of Germany's Delivery Hero, €56.7 million for allegedly violating laws on hiring riders, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
Barcelona-based Glovo said it would appeal the penalty and said the inspected period was prior to the entry into force of a Spanish law passed in 2021, which forced food delivery platforms to grant riders formal employment contracts.
The fine relates to irregularities that the Labour Ministry alleges began in 2019 and affected around 8,000 workers who were not properly hired or did not have adequate work permits as they were foreign nationals, the source said without saying if the period continued after Spain passed its new law in May 2021.
Old Operating Model
"The sanction proposal refers to an operating model that no longer exists in Spain," Glovo said in a statement, without confirming the penalty amount.
"There has yet to be a report from the labour inspectorate or any judicial pronouncement on the new unpublished model currently available in Spain," it added.
Glovo said in September it would appeal the fine it had been handed then. The latest fine imposed on the company was earlier reported by the El Diario news website.
Gig Economy Legislation
Spain's 2021 law was one of the first to regulate workers' rights in the so-called gig economy in Europe.
Glovo has been fined a total of €205 million for alleged breaches in Spain in recent years, the source said.
As many as 37,000 workers are covered by Glovo's alleged labour law violations, the source added.
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