Minister Cristiano Zanin, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), overturned a decision by the Superior Labor Court (TST) that recognized the employment relationship between a delivery person and the Rappi delivery app.
The minister stated that, in recognizing the link, the Labor Court “disregarded the legal aspects related to the issue, especially the precedents of the Federal Supreme Court that enshrine economic freedom and the organization of productive activities.”
Zanin recalled judgments in which the Supreme Federal Court ruled on the constitutionality of outsourcing core or non-core activities. According to them, these judgments established the thesis that "outsourcing or any other form of division of labor between distinct legal entities is lawful, regardless of the corporate purpose of the companies involved, maintaining the subsidiary liability of the contracting company."
The case had been tried by the 6th Chamber of the Superior Labor Court. The reporting judge, Justice Katia Magalhães Arruda, found that there was evidence of an employment relationship and subordination of the worker to Rappi.
She said the company “stipulated procedural rules” for the delivery person to “provide the service of delivering goods to customers of the application managed by it.”
Segundo a ministra, a Rappi exigia do entregador “a obediência a determinadas diretrizes para a prestação dos serviços de entrega de mercadorias” e que “é patente que a reclamada [Rappi] tinha a faculdade contratualmente prevista de aplicar sanções em face do reclamante [entregador], o que denota o pleno exercício do poder disciplinar”.
Attorney Daniel Domingues Chiode, who represents Rappi, said that the "Supreme Court's decision reinforces the understanding already adopted by the Court in similar cases involving drivers and ride-hailing companies."
“The Supreme Federal Court (STF) reaffirmed its binding jurisprudence that such workers are not employees and that subordination, including algorithmic subordination, cannot be considered,” he said.
Article originally published on November 22, 2023 on the Metrópoles website.
English 
Português do Brasil 
Español