Deliveroo found guilty of abusing riders' rights in France

FILE PHOTO: A food delivery cyclist carries a Deliveroo bag. Credit: Reuters

Two former bosses of Deliveroo were given suspended one-year prison sentences and fined 30,000 euros ($32,380) by a French court on Tuesday for abusing the freelance status of riders working for the British takeaway delivery platform.

The company itself was also fined the maximum penalty of 375,000 euros ($404,625), the court ruled.

The ruling against Deliveroo may reverberate outside France at a time the gig economy, built largely upon digital apps and self-employed workers, faces a number of court challenges that may redefine working conditions.

A lawyer for Deliveroo declined to say if the company would appeal the ruling ($1 = 0.9268 euros)