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19.03.2026 15:13

The Supreme Administrative Court confirms that Wolt couriers are in an employment relationship: ”Delaying tactics must now stop and Wolt must comply with the court’s decision”

The Supreme Administrative Court announced today, 19 March 2026, that it has rejected Wolt’s application to annul the precedent issued by the Court in May 2025. In that decision, the Court found that Wolt couriers are in an employment relationship.

So far, Wolt has not complied with the precedent, even though the application for annulment has not affected the legal force of the judgment.

— We are pleased that the Supreme Administrative Court upheld its precedent. Wolt has failed to follow the decision of the highest court for almost a year. This should not be possible in Finland. The company must now stop delaying and couriers should be viewed as employees, says Annika Rönni-Sällinen, President of PAM.

In its precedent, the Court found that all the characteristics of an employment relationship are met in the case of Wolt couriers. Courier work is performed personally, on behalf of the employer, and under its direction and control. Wolt can unilaterally reduce the couriers’ fees and terminate their contracts. In addition, Wolt uses the data it collects to monitor and assess work performance.

– The fulfilment of the characteristics of an employment relationship is not affected by, for example, requiring a business ID or other technical changes. The changes Wolt has made appear to be an attempt to avoid employer status, Rönni-Sällinen states.

Wolt has publicly raised the possibility of a “two-model solution”, where couriers could work either as entrepreneurs or as employees based on their own choice. Rönni-Sällinen reminds that complying with the Court’s judgment is not a matter of choice.

– Court decisions must be followed in Finland, full stop. If Wolt wants to offer the possibility to work as an entrepreneur in the future, it must be genuine entrepreneurship. For example, couriers must have a real possibility to negotiate the terms of the contract with Wolt and to set the prices of deliveries themselves.

The legal process before the Court’s precedent lasted for years. To avoid similar situations in the future, Rönni-Sällinen says that Finland should now introduce an automatic and effective legal presumption of employment relationship for all platform work.

– This is the key requirement of the EU Platform Work Directive, and it must be implemented nationally in line with the Directive.

According to Rönni-Sällinen, it is also important to understand that false self-employment is a wider phenomenon. Disguising an employment relationship as entrepreneurship weakens terms and conditions of employment and lowers pay.

– Already now, for example in cleaning and ice cream kiosks, workers are hired as  false entrepreneurs to reduce labour costs. That is why intentional misinterpretation of the legal status should lead to substantial sanctions for those commissioning the work, Rönni-Sällinen concludes.

Keywords:

Platform economy

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