The Italian judiciary’s bid to clean-up the Italian food delivery industry expanded in March 2026 to include Deliveroo.
Just weeks after Milan public prosecutors took partial judicial control over Glovo to end alleged illegal labour practices at the company, the same prosecutors were authorised by a judge to do the same at its largest competitor, Deliveroo.
The new criminal law investigation is based on a 60-page report which found that the company’s 20,000 strong workforce were paid sometimes up to 90% below the poverty line and were bogus self-employed.
The report included signed statements from 54 riders, almost all migrants from Pakistan and Nigeria.
The British-headquartered company, which is owned by US food delivery platform DoorDash, is now under judicial supervision with a requirement to “regularise” the working conditions, with the chief executive under investigation. Deliveroo said it was reviewing the legal documentation and co-operating.
In the case of Glovo, the prosecutors found that although the riders are supposedly self-employed, the management system they have uncovered, which includes the assignment of schedules and constant geo-location, suggests otherwise.
They found that riders earn around €2.50 per delivery and have to work for up to 12 hours a day to get by. The working conditions were described as “genuine labour exploitation”.