2023-10-13 17:59:24
The prosecution requested a 12-month suspended prison sentence and a 30,000 euro fine against Adrien Roose, ex-boss of the defunct meal delivery company Take Eat Easy, for the “concealed work” of delivery men in France between 2014 and 2016, seeing there “a proven desire to defraud”.
The public prosecutor, who also requested a five-year ban on Mr. Roose, justified his requests by explaining in particular that Take Eat Easy delivery men could not refuse a ride and that they were geolocated for the purpose of control.
These constraints, according to the prosecutor, should not have been exercised on the approximately 3,000 self-employed people who worked as delivery drivers for the Belgian platform (in Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Toulouse or Strasbourg, etc.) from September 2014 until the legal liquidation of the company in August 2016.
Mr. Roose’s lawyers, Jérémy Gutkès and Mathias Chichportich, denounced the “brutal” requisitions at the end of the hearing. “My client never had the intention of committing the slightest offense and everything shows that he had no involvement in the alleged acts,” detailed Me Chichportich.
During the trial, a system of warnings was also mentioned which could go as far as banning the delivery person from the platform. For Mr. Roose, this system should allow the manager to warn the courier of a breach so that there is no “brutal” termination of the service contract.
Explaining that he had focused on seeking funds from investors, Mr. Roose assured that he was not aware of the majority of the control measures exercised. Abuses that he attributed to those responsible for the company in each city and in each country.
Mr. Roose also invoked a delegation of power signed on December 31, 2015 in favor of Matthieu Birach, then sales manager of Take Eat Easy and current HR director of Doctolib.
The court’s decision will be delivered on November 30.
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