Gig-economy riders in Spain must become staff within 90 days under new rule

FILE PHOTO: Glovo deliver rider passes by a pedestrian area in Barcelona, Spain, February 23, 2021. Picture taken February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo

MADRID (Reuters) -Food delivery companies based in Spain have three months to employ their couriers as staff under new rules approved on Tuesday by the government, one of the first laws in Europe regarding gig-economy workers' rights.

The decree aims to clarify the legal situation of thousands of riders after Spain's Supreme Court ruled last year that companies must hire them as employees.