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The investigation, directed by Adrián Todolí, from the Department of Labour Law and Social Security of the University, has carried out an observation of the riders in different parts of Valencia that has allowed to create a profile of the distributors: 89% are men and more than half are under 30 years of age. The Glovo brand stands out, with a share of 60% of those observed, followed by Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Only 5.6% of the delivery people would have a contract with their company. Almost all use the bicycle, but more than 75% do not wear a helmet.
The study, which has had the participation of the Chair in Collaborative Economy and Digital Transformation, has observed for 120 hours, in specific points of Valencia, a total of 1,443 distributors, with the intention of analysing the working conditions and risks in the development of their work.
The protection elements in the delivery people and their vehicles are, in the majority, scarce, taking into account that they are very vulnerable means of transport. The use of helmets is limited to 18% in cyclist distributors, while the mandatory nature of the helmet in electric scooters means that its use in this segment increases to 94%.
The data obtained show a clear gender difference, with only 11% delivery women. Furthermore, 58% of the delivery people are under 30 years old. It was observed that most of the delivery people worked with the company’s backpack and Glovo delivery app, 60% of the total and more than double that of its next competitor, Uber Eats, with 25%, followed by Deliveroo, with 10 % of those observed.
Only 5.6% of delivery people have a working relationship with the company for which they deliver, the majority work for Just Eat, and a small fraction work directly for the catering companies. The study highlights that delivery drivers who work with a self-employed status are subject to instability in their income and with limitations in their rights in labour and Social Security matters.
Professor Adrián Todolí has stated that “The autonomous configuration allows the delivery company to neglect the safety and health conditions of riders, which increases, on the one hand, the chances of suffering an accident and on the other, reduces the measures of safety to avoid damage in the event of an accident”.
The main means of transport used by riders is the bicycle, used by 91.5% of those observed, while the use of the electric scooter reaches 8%. It has been found that delivery people who work with a contract use the scooter more (22.5% against 7.5% of those who work as freelancers). Todolí already highlighted in a previous job how establishing an hourly compensation to the workers would increase their incentives to invest in improving efficiency.
As for the vehicle protection elements (VPE), their implementation is low in almost all cases. The use of retro-reflectors as well as rear and front lights at night, despite being mandatory, is limited to 50%. On the other hand, elements such as mobile phone support, vital for this type of work, have been observed in 87% of cases.
Research links:
Chair in Collaborative Economy and Digital Transformation: https://ir.uv.es/tyd0OMw
Riders in Valencia report: https://ir.uv.es/otirP4P
Specific occupational risks of work on digital platforms (2020) https://ir.uv.es/LI0jgDI
Work on digital platforms in the Valencian community (2019) https://ir.uv.es/E2WaZPi
