Policies

Last updated 23 August 2022

This policy forms part of your agreement with Deliveroo. We will investigate and may take action (including suspending the provision of our services) if you breach these obligations.

Purpose: At Deliveroo we want our partners, riders and customers to have the best possible food delivery experience with us - that means keeping the communities we work with safe too. This policy sets out how we expect our partners to work with riders, customers and communities.

Deliver for the customer

A great customer experience is one of the biggest drivers of order growth for your business.

That’s why, when handling your orders, we ask you to:

• Be respectful, polite and professional at all times when interacting with customers. 
• Make sure the order is ready for the time indicated on your order receipt, this means fewer delays in delivery and the order arrives on time
• Mark any items that you don’t have as ‘unavailable’ so orders don’t have to be cancelled
• Acknowledge and act upon any dietary requirements that a customer may contact you about e.g allergens like nuts
• Comply with any guidance setting out responsibilities where a specific event has health and safety implications (for example, guidance on handling orders in the event of pandemic).
  

Put safety first

Keeping our communities safe is our number one priority. We have a number of policies you need to follow to make sure that customers have the best possible experience when they use Deliveroo.

These policies include:

• Maintaining excellent food hygiene standards so customers feel safe when ordering from you 
• Having correct licences to run promotions on the platform
• Having the correct licences to sell regulated or age-restricted items on the platform and if the items are age-restricted, ensuring all these items are correctly tagged as “age-restricted” items in your menu.
• Displaying all allergen and nutritional information where possible and having trained staff to respond to telephone queries about allergens, to give customers the information they need when ordering from you.

To view Deliveroo’s other partner policies, use the left-hand navigation on this page.

Be respectful

As one of our partners, riders will be going in and out of your site(s) to pick up orders and deliver them to customers. We ask that you treat riders with respect and report any behaviour that you find unprofessional or intimidating to us directly, so we can take appropriate action.

To work with riders professionally, we ask that you:

• Ensure that orders are prepared on time so riders aren't kept waiting
• Allow riders to use your bathroom if they request to do so
• Offer riders water where possible
• Be kind and polite when speaking and interacting with riders

We also ask you to be respectful when dealing with Deliveroo representatives.  Our teams are here to support you, but we take a no-tolerance approach to any abusive, inappropriate or discriminatory behaviour towards them.

How we investigate potential infringement

If we are made aware of a partner who is acting in breach of these guidelines, or any other clause in their contract, we will investigate the complaint before taking any action on the account, and partners will be notified if we decide to take any action.

Last updated 23 August 2022

This policy forms part of your agreement with Deliveroo. We will investigate and may take action (including suspending the provision of our services) if you breach these obligations.

Purpose: Deliveroo wants every customer to enjoy their version of amazing; however, we appreciate that things don’t always go to plan. This policy sets out what we expect partners to do if things go wrong.

What we expect from our partners:

• All complaints and in particular those relating to food safety (e.g. allergens, foreign bodies) and quality (e.g. taste, temperature, portion size) must be taken very seriously and investigated immediately.  
• A customer complaint procedure should be a part of your food safety procedures.  
• When undertaking an investigation, you should consider and be prepared to provide feedback upon the request of Deliveroo.

Withdrawal and recall:

• A withdrawal and recall procedure should be a part of your food safety procedures.  
• If you are uncertain about these legal requirements, you should seek independent legal advice about your obligations.   
• In the event of a recall, or potential recall, you must notify us as soon as practicable of the actions to be taken (or expected to be taken) in handling the affected menu items (e.g. return or disposal). To the extent that we are able, we will support you to remove the unsafe menu items from the supply chain and recall it from customers if necessary.

Last updated 23 August 2022

This policy forms part of your agreement with Deliveroo. We will investigate and may take action (including suspending the provision of our services) if you breach these obligations.

Purpose: We take customer safety very seriously and we’re confident that our partners do too. Stringent food hygiene processes are essential to ensuring customers are safe and their food is amazing. This policy sets out the food hygiene and safety standards that we expect partners to meet in order to sell their products through the Deliveroo platform.

What we expect from our partners:

You are responsible for ensuring that the products that you sell are safe and compliant with applicable law.  If you are uncertain about any legal requirements, please seek advice from an expert.  

We expect you to have food safety procedures in place that deal with all aspects of food safety and hygiene for your business in compliance with food hygiene laws and regulations, including:

• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans;
• Cross-contamination;
• Allergens;
• Cleaning and waste;
• Maintenance;
• Chilling, defrosting, freezing, cooking; reheating;
• Temperature control: chilled and hot holding - in particular, while awaiting collection by a rider;
• Personal hygiene and fitness to work;
• Pest control;
• Control of Hazardous Substances;
• Takeaway packaging;
• Staff training;
• Supplier assurance;
• Traceability; 
• Monitoring and auditing; and
• Recall/withdrawal.

Last updated 23 August 2022

This policy forms part of your agreement with Deliveroo. We will investigate and may take action (including suspending the provision of our services) if you breach these obligations.

Purpose: It’s critical to Deliveroo that all its partners operate in a way that is safe, responsible and legally-compliant. This policy sets out the types of registrations, licences and permits that you may require in order to sell or promote products through the platform. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list. 

Registrations

• You may need to register with the relevant government authority or other relevant regulators in order to promote, sell or supply food and/or beverages.
• Additionally, premises of food businesses that make, prepare or handle food that comes from animals (e.g. meat, fish, egg or dairy products) may need to be approved by the local authority or other relevant regulator. 
• If your income exceeds the relevant threshold, you may need to register for VAT. Consult a professional advisor if you are unsure.

Licences

A licence may be required in order for certain licensable activities to be carried out, for example, for:

• the sale of alcohol; and/or
• the sale of late-night refreshments within certain hours.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have all appropriate registrations, licences and permits in place for your business. It is also your responsibility to comply with all conditions and requirements of your registrations, licences and permits. 

In the event that we reasonably believe that you do not have appropriate registrations, licences and permits in place or that you have not complied with the requirements of those registrations, licences or permits, we reserve the right to immediately suspend the provision of our services without notice.

Last updated 23 August 2022

This policy forms part of your agreement with Deliveroo. We will investigate and may take action (including suspending the provision of our services) if you breach these obligations.

Purpose: Deliveroo believes customers should be able to make informed choices when they want an amazing meal delivered to their homes. This policy sets out the information standards that we expect partners to meet in order to sell their products through the platform. 

What we expect from our partners

You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness and compliance with applicable laws or regulations (in particular in respect of providing information required by applicable consumer laws) of all information input about Menu Items for publication on the platform - even where Deliveroo inputs such information on your behalf. 

You are responsible for ensuring that the products that you sell are safe and compliant with applicable law.  If you are uncertain about any legal requirements, please seek advice from an expert. 

Alongside applicable law, these are the standards that we expect you to meet:

Food information requirements: You must ensure that all mandatory food information is available to the customer before they buy and when it is delivered to them. For example, your staff should be trained to respond to telephone queries from customers about mandatory food information and you should have in place a method for this information to be available upon delivery.  

Regulated Descriptions: Certain descriptions and foods may be controlled by specific regulations. For example, use of terms such as ‘organic’ or ‘gluten free’ may not be used unless the food meets the relevant regulatory requirements and care must be taken when referring to foods with protected descriptions, such as chocolate, meat products (sausages, burgers and pies), olive oil, products containing alcohol; as well as foods with a protected geographical indication (e.g. Wensleydale cheese), protected designation of origin (e.g. Stilton) or traditional speciality guaranteed (e.g. farm fresh turkey). If you are uncertain about the use of regulated descriptions or where they may apply, please seek advice from an expert.

Age Restricted Products: When you list age restricted items on Deliveroo, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are correctly tagged as “age restricted”, so that riders are aware that the order contains these items and can carry out age verification checks. Examples of age restricted items vary by location, but will include, for example alcohol and tobacco.  

If providing menu updates to Deliveroo to update on your behalf, you must clearly mark age restricted items on the menu you submit to Deliveroo. 

Whether your menu is updated through Menu Manager, or by providing updates to Deliveroo, it is your responsibility to confirm and ensure that your age restricted menu items are tagged correctly. If we believe that any of your menu items are not accurately tagged as age restricted, we reserve the right to tag the items or remove them from the platform. You can learn more about how to ensure age restricted items are correctly tagged here.

Marketing Claims and Nutrition and Health Claims:  You must be able to substantiate any marketing claims that you make about your food.  You should take into account any relevant guidance, for example around the criteria for using certain terms  such as ‘fresh’, ‘pure’ or  ‘natural’ in food labelling and advertising codes. 

Misleading Descriptions:  All information that you provide about the food that you sell must be accurate, clear and easy to understand so that customers can make informed food choices based on diet, allergies, personal taste and cost. Information must not be misleading as to the food’s characteristics, nature, identity, properties, composition, quantity, durability, country of origin or method of manufacture or production. 

Safe Ingredients: You are responsible for ensuring that the food that you sell is safe for human consumption, does not contain prohibited ingredients and complies with applicable compositional requirements, including rules relating to novel foods, GMOs and additives etc.

Last updated: August 2024

Scope 

This Code applies to all Deliveroo merchants, suppliers, riders and contractors, and every member of your own supply chain (collectively referred to as “Business Partners” throughout this Code). These standards supplement your legal obligations and the agreement between us.  

Compliance with this Code

We take the matters described in this Code very seriously. We may require you to participate in monitoring or audits to demonstrate your compliance with this Code. If we have concerns that you are not meeting our standards, we expect you to collaborate to resolve any issues promptly. We reserve the right to cease working with you until the relevant concerns have been addressed. If the issues flagged are not resolved in a timeframe we consider appropriate in our absolute and sole discretion, we will not be able to work or continue working with you.  

Business Partner Standards 

Deliveroo believes that applying this Code enables us to take real and practical steps towards improving conditions throughout our supply chains.  

Doing Business Ethically and within the Law

• We expect you to comply with all applicable laws. If you want to do business with Deliveroo, you must do so in the right way. Where this Code and applicable law address the same topic, the higher standard should be applied. 
• Bribery and corruption will not be tolerated. Offering or receiving a bribe is prohibited. A bribe is something of value to someone else in exchange for an improper advantage, and can include cash or cash equivalents, services, offers of employment, charitable donations, political contributions, travel and/or entertainment expenses, meals or gifts. You may not offer or accept any such items of value on Deliveroo’s behalf. We don’t recognise a ‘that’s how business is done here’ excuse: local custom and practice does not justify bribery.
• Follow our procurement and due diligence processes. You may be designated as an Associated Person, which means you perform a service for, or on behalf of, Deliveroo. This represents a higher level of risk and we therefore conduct due diligence on our third parties. If asked to complete a due diligence questionnaire, we expect that you do so faithfully, promptly and to the best of your knowledge.
• We expect you to operate with financial integrity. Business Partners should avoid conflicts of interest that could affect our business relationship and notify us where any arise. All business records should be transparent and accurate. You should maintain appropriate controls to detect money laundering and corruption. 
• We expect you to prevent fraud. We expect our business partners to implement reasonable procedures to prevent fraud, including reviewing anti-fraud systems and controls to cover fraud committed by employees or agents. This includes false representation; failing to disclose information; abusing a position; obtaining services dishonestly; false accounting, statements or trading; participating in a fraudulent business, or cheating the public revenue. We expect you to promptly report any request or demand from any third party to facilitate fraud in relation to Deliveroo business.
• Respect privacy expectations. Data that is shared with, collected by or otherwise processed by you should be protected, secured and treated in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws. 

The Workplace

• Work is freely chosen and offered on fair terms. No person should ever be forced to work for or provide services to you. Individuals have the freedom to leave their employment or engagement at any time on giving reasonable notice and without reprisal. They should be offered fair terms that comply with relevant laws.
• We do not tolerate child labour. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that children are not forced into labour. You must take appropriate measures to prevent child labour, in line with relevant ILO Conventions and in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. ‘Child’ is any person employed under the minimum age for children to work in the relevant country. People under the age of 18 should not be asked to work night shifts or to complete dangerous tasks. All contractors who are riders, and any substitute, must be 18 years and over.  

Non-Discrimination and Respect at Work

• Any form of abuse or harassment is categorically not accepted. Every individual can expect to be treated with respect and dignity. Inhumane treatment, any physical, verbal or other abuse and any and all forms of harassment must be strictly prohibited. Where abuse is identified, meaningful remedial actions must be taken immediately. 
• Discrimination will not be tolerated. We do not tolerate discrimination in hiring and employment practices on the grounds of age; gender reassignment; marital/civil partnership status; pregnancy status; disability; race, including colour, nationality, ethical or national origin; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation. This includes hiring, promotion, compensation and vendor selection. You should strive for diversity and inclusion through all aspects of your operations and supply chain. 

Wages, Benefits & Working Hours

• Workers are compensated fairly. Business Partners must comply with all applicable wage and hour laws and regulations, including those relating to minimum wages, overtime hours and other elements of compensation, and provide legally mandated benefits. All deductions from wages must be lawful, fair and transparent. Individuals should not be required to pay fees associated with their recruitment. 
• Workers should understand their hours and working conditions. Do not exceed prevailing local work hours or force people to work more than the allowable time without their consent. Provide clear and understandable written information about conditions with respect to wages, benefits, location of work, living conditions, housing and associated costs.

Freedom of Association, Collective Bargaining and Workers Councils

• Freedom of association and representation is respected. Business Partners should respect workers rights to associate freely, bargain collectively, join or not join trade unions, seek representations and join workers’ councils in accordance with local laws, without fear of reprisal, discrimination, intimidation or harassment. 
• Workers should have access to fair procedures to be able to voice concerns. You should provide appropriate mechanisms for people to raise concerns. Reports should be investigated and remedial actions taken where required. People who raise good faith concerns should be protected from retaliation. 

Health & Safety at Work

• Prioritise food safety and integrity. For those Business Partners who prepare or sell food, we take very seriously our role in promoting food safety. Stringent food hygiene processes are essential to ensuring customers are safe and the food they receive is amazing. You are responsible for ensuring that the products that you sell are safe and compliant with applicable law and Deliveroo policies. 
• Prioritise product safety and integrity. For those Business Partners who sell non-food items, we take equally seriously our role in promoting product safety and compliance. You should list and sell products only when you have the legal right to do so and, in some cases, permission from Deliveroo. You must ensure that you only list items in accordance with our Restricted Products Policy and not list items outlined in this Policy. You are responsible for ensuring that the products that you sell are safe and compliant with applicable law and Deliveroo policies.
• Provide a safe and healthy working environment. Working hours must not be excessive - employees and workers have the right to breaks and to rest periods. Overtime shall be used responsibly, in accordance with local laws and not as a substitute for regular employment or engagement. Working environments must meet basic human needs - as a bare minimum, clean drinking water and toilets must be available. Functioning and safe equipment should be provided as needed and appropriate steps should be taken to prevent accidents, including programmes that encompass occupational safety, illness, industrial hygiene, sanitation and ergonomics. Business Partners should be prepared for and respond to foreseeable emergencies and will learn from past incidents.
• Protect the Environment. We expect Business Partners to recognise the importance of the environment around us. Business Partners should embrace sustainability and seek to have a positive impact on communities. Conduct operations with the aim of preserving the environment and reducing negative impacts. We also encourage you to support local communities and engage in social investments for positive change. 

Responsible Sourcing

• We expect you to demand the same standards from your own supply chain, and be able to answer our questions about how your own suppliers or substitutes operate. Your sourcing strategy should promote responsible and ethical choices. You should conduct risk-based due diligence to understand who you are doing business with

This Business Partner Code of Conduct is just the beginning.

Risk must be assessed and mitigated on an ongoing basis. These standards must be more than a statement of intentions. We expect you to continuously review your processes, controls and supply chain and ensure that you meet the standards in this Code, and make improvements as needed. Deliveroo reserves the right to update this Code of Conduct from time to time.

Raising concerns.

If you have an existing relationship with Deliveroo and are not sure whether your own standards meet those of this Code, get in touch with your contact at Deliveroo as soon as possible so that we can work together to address this. 

We support the reporting of any conduct of any Deliveroo employee, merchant, supplier or rider that the reporter believes in good faith to be an actual, apparent, or potential violation of our Code of Conduct. If you have any such concerns, please tell us by emailing ethics.compliance@deliveroo.co.uk so that we can act promptly. All information you provide will be treated confidentially and disclosed only as necessary, including to investigate or report a matter.

Last updated 27 August 2021

Our customer compensation policy is available here.

Overview

What do we mean by “Virtual Brands”?

Creating a Virtual Brand means using your existing kitchen, equipment and stock to provide customers with another food occasion or cuisine online, which is different to that offered by the original (or parent) brand. A Virtual Brand can allow your business to develop new ideas and new concepts under a new brand name, lowering risk and the size of investment needed, as well as potentially helping you to reduce product wastage and cost. Importantly, Virtual Brands are great for customers, as they increase the diversity of food available to them on the Deliveroo platform. To be considered a Virtual Brand, the menu on offer needs to be substantively different to the menu of the original parent brand. Businesses must contact Deliveroo through the Restaurant Hub for approval to onboard a new Virtual Brand and have it registered on our system.

What do we mean by “Duplicate Accounts”?

By contrast, we consider a Partner to have a “Duplicate Account” where they have two or more menus which are not substantively different from each other. As an indicative guide, Deliveroo considers any site where the menu consists largely of the same items as its primary account operating from the same address, to be a Duplicate Account.  For example, the same number of main dishes (and same recipe) are offered in the second account but using different names or menu descriptions, or indeed with the same dishes and descriptions entirely.  Where there are two sites operating from the same address which have not been approved by Deliveroo as a Virtual Brand, the newer site will automatically be deemed to be a Duplicate Account.

Suspension of Duplicate Accounts

Deliveroo will check new and existing menus which belong to brands operating from the same address. Any Duplicate Account will be suspended from the Deliveroo platform. 

What should I do if my account is suspended?

If you wish the menu to be reinstated on the Deliveroo Platform you will need to make sufficient changes to it, so that the menu items are substantially different from those of the other account menus operating from the same address, for example by offering a different cuisine style or seasonal dishes which are not available on the menu of the primary account. Making small changes (e.g. tweaking the name of a dish from “Thai Chicken Curry” to “Thai Curry - chicken”) or adding small additional items (e.g. sauces) will be insufficient if the menu and dishes it contains remain substantively  the same as  those of the parent menu. Once you have adapted your menu, you should notify your Account Manager or contact Deliveroo through the Deliveroo Hub for approval to onboard a new Virtual Brand and have it registered on our system.

Deliveroo’s Unplanned Outage Policy

At Deliveroo, our aim is to be the best delivery platform to our partners, riders and customers. A big part of that means ensuring we are providing a reliable service, so that you can rely on us as your delivery partner at all times.

Despite our best efforts, there are times where we may experience technical issues that impact the regular functioning of our service. In the rare event we do experience a technical issue with our platform which impacts you, we want to ensure that you and your teams are kept informed as soon as possible, including so that you can take any mitigating actions on your end.

This policy outlines how Deliveroo will handle severe unplanned outages which result in our platform being down and you being unable to fulfil orders as usual (an “Outage”). It includes how we will keep our partners informed throughout an Outage, and what our compensation policy is for orders that are affected as a result of an Outage.

Our Unplanned Outage Communications Process

In the event we experience an Outage, and your orders are affected as a result of the Outage, the following policy will apply.

For Restaurants: We will process a payment adjustment for orders that had to be cancelled as a result of the Outage. We will process a payment adjusting for orders / part of an order that had to be remade as a result of the Outage. You will see these payments reflected as payment adjustments in your Payment Statement in Hub within 2 weeks.

For Grocers and Non Food Retail: If an order had perishable items that were spoiled as a result of the Outage, please contact our Partner Services Centre and they will assess your claim.

This Policy and any payments made to you in accordance with this Outage Policy are subject to the limitations set out in your contract with us. Deliveroo will not be responsible for any loss of sales or business during the period of an Outage.

Effective 20th March 2024

This policy sets out certain minimum requirements Deliveroo expects Partners to meet. Deliveroo may take action which includes notification and suspension from the platform of any site which breaches these minimum standards. This Policy also explains if and how a site can be reinstated to the platform following a suspension.

Context

We want to offer customers the best possible service when they order from Deliveroo and to ensure that riders are able to pick up and deliver orders efficiently. Deliveroo is committed to supporting all three sides of the marketplace. This all starts with the service which you, our Restaurant and Grocery Partners, provide. As a minimum, Deliveroo considers that good service requires three things:

• Accepting and fulfilling the orders you receive - You should avoid rejecting or cancelling customer orders. If you are unable to provide a menu item, you should mark it as unavailable. on your menu. You should also ensure you enable auto accept, keep your stock levels up to date and keep your opening hours up to date and accurately reflected in your Hub account.

• Minimising missing items -  You should ensure that you pack your orders in a dedicated area, securely seal the bags, write the number of individual order items on the bag. These steps will help ensure missing item cases are reduced.  

• Cooking or preparing the food on time - You should ensure orders are prepared for the pick up time so they are ready when a rider arrives. If you are more busy than usual, toggle on Busy Mode on the Deliveroo tablet so we can amend your prep times. This will ensure riders can maximise their earnings, and food can be delivered to customers on time.

If you are a Marketplace+ Partner, who fulfils the delivery of the order to customers itself, then in addition to the above,  we believe excellent customer service also requires:

• Delivering to customers in a timely fashion - You should ensure that orders are delivered to customers at the address specified, on time and in a professional manner.  

Minimum Requirements 

While we understand that things can sometimes go wrong, as a Partner on our platform, you must meet certain minimum service standards. We set these standards to try and reduce bad outcomes for our consumers and riders. To avoid the risks of being suspended from the Deliveroo platform you must meet the requirements below. If you operate multiple sites, each site you operate will be evaluated individually.

1. Rejections: Reject fewer than 22% of the orders you receive; and

1. Missing or Incorrect item: Have fewer than 12% of orders where at least one missing or incorrect item is reported by a customer; and

1. Rider Wait Time: Have fewer than 40% of orders where food is ready for collection more than 5 minutes after the expected pick-up time communicated to you on the Deliveroo platform.

1. Px fault Cancellations: Cancel fewer than 4.5% of the orders you receive

If you are a Marketplace Partner, you must also:

1. Missing / Late orders. Have fewer than 2.5% of your orders reported as late or missing by customers.

You can see how you are performing against each of these metrics in the Restaurant Hub.

Notification and Suspension

In the event any of the above thresholds are breached over any rolling month-long period, you may be suspended from the platform for a period of at least 60 days.

If you wish to ask questions about or wish to challenge a suspension decision, you can do so by contacting us through your Hub account. 

Reinstatement

At the end of the 60 day suspension period, you must contact us via Restaurant Hub to request to be reinstated on the platform. We will require you to submit a resolution plan via Restaurant Hub, setting out how you plan to improve your operations in order for you to be reinstated.

Permanent Offboarding

If a site fails to meet the required levels of operational performance following suspension and reinstatement on the platform on three or more occasions, Deliveroo may at its discretion notify you and terminate the provision of its services in full, and the affected site(s) will be offboarded from the Deliveroo platform.