Uber Eats will no longer use freelancers as meal deliverers in the Netherlands, reports the NL Times and Telegraaf (paywall). From next spring, the platform will only work with temporary workers in the Netherlands. Uber Eats broke the news to its thousands of freelance delivery workers on Wednesday this week.

Uber has been quietly preparing for the transition in recent months, interim director Nick Hilhorst of Uber Eats told the Telegraaf. “We have had discussions with the unions and with experts in the field of social security,” he said (translated from Dutch). “We have negotiated, that is new to us.”

The main reason for the switch to temporary workers is the changing laws and regulations. “The court rulings in several cases about hiring freelancers also play a role,” Hilhorst said. “If you had asked me personally, I would have liked to continue working with self-employed workers. But if the rules change, we at Uber will adapt to that.” The decision does not apply to Uber taxi drivers, Hilhorst added. “That is a completely different category. They have often invested a lot of money into a car and also have to arrange a taxi license, among other things.”

Last year, Uber Eats worked with staffing giants Adecco and Randstad, asking freelance Uber Eats delivery workers whether they’d like to work as a temporary worker via an employment agency. According to Hilhorst, the trial was a success, and one in six of its delivery workers now has a temporary employment contract.

Femke Hellemons, country head of Adecco Netherlands, said delivery workers aren’t only concerned about how much they earn. “Determining when you work and how many hours you want is at least as important,” Hellemons said.

Trade union FNV is pleased that Uber Eats is taking this step, though vice-chair Zakaria Boufangacha added that “they’re doing it because we forced” them to. “These deliverers will now receive more protection. Although, we still have to discuss with Uber’s management whether they will also apply the collective bargaining agreement for professional goods transport. Because in our view, they fall under that.”