Costa Rica: a decision on platform workers’ relationship

On 13 April 2023, the Labour Court of San José stated that an employment relationship existed between Uber and a driver who provided his services for Uber from February 2017 to December 2022.
Uber has to pay the driver the corresponding sums for vacations, Christmas bonuses, and social security during employment.
The judge rejected the driver's claim on the right to overtime compensation, as Uber did not impose the hours, which were decided by the driver.

The decision (resolution number 2023-000212) sets a judicial precedent in Costa Rica.

The judge based his decision on Article 2 of the Costa Rican Labour Code, according to which a worker is 'any natural person who provides material or intellectual services to another person or persons, or both, under a contract of employment that may be expressed, implied, verbal, written, individual or collective', as well as on Article 18, which presumes the existence of an employment relationship if the employer exercises direction and control over the worker. It is up to the employer to provide proof to the contrary.

In his analysis, the judge points out the requirements to determine an employment contract, considering they were fulfilled in the case. These are:

- Remuneration: The company pays the driver a fare or a percentage, varying at the company's discretion, on each journey made (unlike an independent contractor who can independently determine fares). This element was therefore considered an indicator of an employment relationship.

- Subordination: Based on the concrete situation, the Court concluded that the company issued mandatory guidelines and directions to be followed during service provision. Moreover, it considered a disciplinary sanction the temporary suspension if the driver did not respond to 3 consecutive travel requests.

- Personal performance of the service: the driver could not delegate the task to another person of his choice.

- Alienation: A situation where the fruits of the tasks performed are attributed to the employer, considered a critical element in determining the employment nature of the relationship. In this case, UBER received payments and then distributed them to the driver under the conditions set by the company.

These subordination indices are similar to those applied by other courts in many parts of the world, although sometimes with different conclusions.

The decision follows the recent Dutch Supreme Court ruling and many other rulings we reported on in several previous editions.