New forms of work and platform work: Spain case study

Spain became the first EU country to introduce targeted legal changes that oblige online platforms to recognise delivery workers as employees, paving the way for better social protection of this group of platform workforce and granting them labour rights. The so-called “Riders’ Law” (adopted in 2021) introduced a rebuttable presumption of employment for delivery couriers working through online platforms.

In essence, the rebuttable presumption of employment means that the platform (and not the worker) becomes responsible for proving that there is no employment relationship between the platform and the worker. Unless proven otherwise, delivery couriers working through online platforms are considered to be employees with all the pertaining rights.