[jarcane]

Correct. The labor board has issued its opinion that they should be considered employees but it hasn't yet been enforced by the courts.

Instead, all Wolt couriers in Finland have been "independent contractors" and had to have their own business name or do other paperwork, that because of how Finnish law works for small business owners, means they get cut off from any public health insurance, unemployment insurance, etc.

Courier work doesn't pay nearly enough to afford private insurance here, and since they aren't unionized (because after all they're not "workers" but business owners), they can't join a union unemployment benefit either.

There has been an ongoing attempt at unionization but it has been difficult to push through; the apps are fighting against it tooth and nail because they already run at a loss and underpay the drivers as it is. Wolt deliberately obfuscates how much couriers are making an hour in the driver app, runs propaganda articles on the customer app, and both it and Foodora have continued to fight against employee or union recognition in the courts.

It's become apparent for a while they are running scared, and running out of money. Quality of service has massively degraded over the last two years, as they've stripped support staff to the bone, manipulated delivery fees and ranges to nickle-and-dime customers, massive order delays and fudged estimates, started manipulating algorithms to push certain restaurants and promotions, rushed couriers causing constant order failures, which then mean more cost in customer refunds. It's god bad enough I stopped using it completely, because I just could no longer trust that I'd even get what I ordered, or that it wouldn't be left a sodden mess leaking all over my entryway.

It's an app that was probably going to implode if they didn't get a buyout and soon, so this move is incredibly predictable. My only surprise is just how greedy they went with the bogus valuation here.

[sampo]

> because of how Finnish law works for small business owners, means they get cut off from any public health insurance

This is not true. Finnish public health insurance is residency based: Every resident has it [1]. What you are probably thinking of, is the extra occupational private health insurance, that most Finnish employers provide for their employees (so that during work days, the employees don't need to wait in line in the public health services, but can get back to work sooner after seeing a private doctor).

[1] https://www.kela.fi/ulkomailta-suomeen-sairaanhoito-suomessa

[jarcane]

My father-in-law was a Finn, born and raised, and had to pay for everything out of pocket because he owned his own home business fabricating HVAC ductwork, and of course got no sick leave if he did get injured and couldn't work.

It's possible to buy private insurance of course, a common solution for tech freelancers here is to make your own business and then hire yourself as an employee, so at least you can get an occupational health care plan.

But private health insurance here is a joke anyway, they don't cover a ton of things because they assume they can just refer you to the public care for any of the complicated stuff. Mine wouldn't even cover a CPAP machine, I had to get on a public waiting list and borrow one from the state, and it took months.

[kakoni]

I believe most of the couriers have ”residence permit for an entrepreneur”. That means you get emergency care but thats about it. As your link states ” Jos olet tullut Suomeen tilapäisesti muualta kuin EU- tai Eta-maasta, Sveitsistä, Isosta-Britanniasta tai Pohjois-Irlannista, sinulla on oikeus vain kiireelliseen sairaanhoitoon. Hoidon kustannukset voidaan laskuttaa sinulta jälkikäteen. ”

[dustintrex]

As the Finnish say, it's not the fool who sells, but the one who buys. If a buyer is willingly offering 7 billion EUR, it's not greedy to accept it.

[kakoni]

> It's become apparent for a while they are running scared, and running out of money.

In he meantime it seems that their executive + lead level salaries took quite a hike between 2019 and 2020. At the sametime there were stories about how cost conscious they are. Funny.