The Madrid Social Court No. 14 has endorsed the Labor Inspectorate’s findings and confirmed a major ruling against Amazon. Between 2017 and 2019 the company was found to have relied on a fleet of self employed workers posing as freelancers. The so called business police provided the evidence after a formal police complaint. UGT reported that about 2,166 workers in Madrid were affected, and another 2,000 people were later identified at the El Prat logistics center in Barcelona. The court accepted the inspection’s minutes and upheld the claim for unpaid Social Security contributions. Amazon’s own sources say the group is considering whether to appeal the decision (attribution: local press summaries).
The case centers on a complaint filed more than three years ago regarding an earlier Amazon delivery model known as amazon flexible. Workers registered as self employed traveled from store to store throughout the day to pick up parcels and deliver them to customers. They received Amazon fees, with estimates around 14 euros per hour, and the firm required geolocation of every package to track routes. The ruling indicates that the relationship between these deliverers and the founder of the company, Jeff Bezos, bore many hallmarks of an employment relationship because the deliverers operated under the company’s direction and control. The decision suggests Amazon used this model to reduce Social Security payments by shifting responsibility to the deliverers themselves, who must handle sick leave and vacation arrangements.
Such practices are part of a broader trend labeled in Spain as a form of business economics. They have drawn scrutiny from regulators and courts, with comparable actions against other corporate actors like Glovo and Uber. Madrid judges reference prior rulings against these firms at both Spanish and European levels in their decisions (attribution: regional judicial communications).
The giant of supplierless delivery
Amazon has long been described as a logistics giant with limited direct employment in Spain. Thousands of parcels bearing its logo move across the country, yet the company does not maintain a workforce of directly hired couriers. The delivery model has evolved over time. It began with the so called Flex program, which was framed as a flexible staffing solution while avoiding direct employment relations for delivery personnel in Spain (attribution: industry reporting).
Currently, Amazon operates through a model known as DPS. This approach invites small business owners to establish fleets of vans and outsource the delivery process to them. Initial investments can be under 50,000 euros, with potential annual invoicing surpassing one million euros. The multinational asserts that it does not control the delivery processes and that outsourcing remains complete. Yet reports from eldiario.es indicate that Amazon plans routes, tracks courier locations, monitors performance, and uses algorithms to reward efficiency or penalize underperformance, effectively supervising and evaluating the delivery workflow (attribution: investigative journalism).”