Wolt, Delivery Couriers Reach $9.3 Million Settlement Over Worker Status

Food delivery giant Wolt and its couriers have reached a preliminary settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit that sought to classify the company's delivery personnel as employees. The proposed deal, submitted to the National Labor Court, would see Wolt pay approximately 34.3 million shekels (about $9.3 million) to couriers who have worked for the company in Israel since its 2018 launch. This payment aims to resolve a six-year legal battle over the couriers' employment status.

Under the terms of the agreement, couriers will continue to operate as independent contractors, maintaining the flexibility to choose their working hours and accept or decline deliveries, and can work for other platforms simultaneously. However, the settlement introduces several benefits and protections that bring their model closer to that of salaried employees. These include a guarantee that the average hourly pay for deliveries will not fall below minimum wage, and in certain conditions, Wolt will contribute up to 50% of couriers' pension savings. The company will also provide personal accident insurance, a right to a hearing before contract termination, safety training, and will apply provisions related to equal opportunities, sexual harassment prevention, and disability rights.

The lawsuit, initially filed in August 2020 by former Wolt courier Golan Hazanovich, argued that the contractual classification of couriers as independent contractors did not reflect the reality of their working relationship. The initial claim sought around 24 million shekels, with demands including pension contributions, vacation pay, sick leave, and severance pay. In 2022, the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court approved the case as a class action, finding a "reasonable possibility" that couriers could be deemed employees, citing factors like the app's role in assigning deliveries, company-set rates, and real-time tracking.

Wolt appealed this decision to the National Labor Court. In 2024, the Attorney General's office suggested that the case should not proceed as a class action, not because couriers were definitively independent, but due to the difficulty in collectively determining the status of thousands of couriers with diverse working patterns. The settlement was brokered through extensive mediation by retired Supreme Court Justice Prof. Yoram Danziger and retired National Labor Court Justice Michael Spitzer. It does not include an admission of wrongdoing by Wolt and still requires approval from the National Labor Court.

The settlement comes as the Israeli food delivery market, valued at approximately 5 billion shekels annually, sees shifts in employment models. Notably, competitor Ten Bis transitioned about 700 of its couriers from employee to independent contractor status in mid-2025, mirroring Wolt's model. This proposed Wolt settlement could further solidify a hybrid model: couriers remain contractually independent but gain enhanced protections and financial support typically associated with employment, potentially influencing future labor relations in the platform economy.