Recent rulings on gig workers' employment status show how courts often reach conflicting conclusions.
WageIndicator's database of court cases shows that in Belgium, Deliveroo riders were classified as self-employed in 2021 and then as employees in 2023.
Similarly, in Italy, Foodora riders were deemed independent contractors in 2018, but later rulings in cases involving other platforms favoured their employment status, including the notable case in 2023 in which the dismissal of 4,000 Uber Eats riders was ruled 'unlawful'.
In Nigeria, courts shifted from not recognizing Uber drivers as employees in 2018 to granting them employee rights in 2022.
New Zealand saw a similar reversal between 2020 and 2022.
In the Dutch Helpling cleaners' case, the court initially ruled against employment in 2019 but later recognized them as temporary workers, granting rights like sick pay and redundancy.
Contrasting trends are also evident in Brazil, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom, where courts have fluctuated in their decisions regarding gig workers' employment status.
In Brazil, an initial ruling required Rappi to hire all its drivers, but the Federal Supreme Court later overturned this decision.
In Uber v National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers, an initial ruling favoured the South African workers, but it was later found that there was no contractual relationship between the drivers and Uber SA.
In 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers were workers entitled to the minimum wage and paid holidays. However, in 2023, it ruled that Deliveroo riders were not employees due to their ability to pass on deliveries to substitutes.
In the US, rulings had generally favoured workers until a July 2024 California Supreme Court decision allowed app-based drivers for services like Uber and Lyft to remain independent contractors.