Experiences with the “Riders' Law”.

VS – 01/2025

The refutable presumption of employment is a core element of the EU Directive covering platform working. Accordingly, the burden of proof and a certain justification obligation is shifted to the platform if it categorises the platform workers as self-employed. It is intended to help determine the employment status of platform workers. In August 2021, Spain was the first country in the EU to introduce a refutable presumption of employment for determining the status of drivers working from digital platforms, and this was before the Platform Directive legislative process had begun at European level.


The effects of this law, known as the “Riders' Law”, were analysed in a current study. The study showed that all three delivery services in question used various strategies to minimise the impact of the law on their own business models. Violations of the law were also not sanctioned, or only sanctioned after a very long delay. This is why the law has had a slow impact on the actual employment situation. The study also concluded that the aim of the law to protect platform workers from precarious employment has not been realised. It is not sufficient to focus solely on determining the employment status here.

How will the platforms react?

The object of the EU directive covering platform working is to ensure that the status determination is based on the actual employment relationship. The member states now have until 2 December 2026 to implement the directive. However, the impact the Directive will have on the platform workers is unclear. Digital working platforms are characterised by their ability to adapt their business models and operating strategies to meet different social and legal contexts. However, the success of the Directive will largely depend on how the regulations are implemented by the digital working platforms.

The developments in Spain will provide an initial indication of this. In this study, the analysis of the effects one year after the introduction of the “Rider's Law” was based of three large delivery services. The authors analysed the reactions to the changes in the regulatory framework and the actual impact on employment relationships.

Study results

In the study, the authors identified three strategies for dealing with the new employment law framework. One delivery service now employs platform workers as part-time employees. However, the actual scope of employment was almost the same as for full-time employees. This delivery service exploited a special feature of the overtime regulations in force in Spain.

The second delivery service pushed for outsourcing the management of platform employees to subcontractors. This meant that they were in competition with each other. The platform workers are employed by the subcontractors under constantly changing chain contracts. The digital working platform has retained some flexibility in the deployment of platform workers by taking advantage of Spanish labour law.

The third delivery service has formally adjusted its contracts. However, and according to the authors, the actual employment situation has not changed significantly. This also corresponds to the results of the studies undertaken by the Spanish authorities. However, it took over a year for them to react. It was only the fines imposed in the subsequent years that led to the delivery service announcing that it would treat its couriers as employees in the future.

The “Riders' Law” works

The study showed that two of the delivery services that were analysed have adapted to the law. This has improved the security of platform employment. However, both platforms made full use of existing labour law options to the detriment of their platform workers. This showed that focussing solely on determining the employment status is not enough to prevent precarious employment. The third delivery service that was analysed showed how important it is to enforce existing laws and punish violations.