This Runner Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into between eRunna (Pty) Ltd (registration number [TBD: company registration number]), a private company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of South Africa ("eRunna", "we", "us" or "our"), and you, the individual registering as a runner on the eRunna platform ("you", "Runner").
By completing the runner registration process and accessing runner features of the eRunna platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Agreement. If you do not agree, do not register as a runner.
1. Nature of this Agreement
eRunna operates a technology platform that connects customers requiring errand and delivery services with runners and merchants. eRunna is a marketplace intermediary, not a delivery company.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: runner classification]
The legal classification of runners under South African law — whether as independent contractors, employees, or a category attracting employment-like protections — is a live, contested issue and must be determined by a specialist SA employment attorney before this Agreement is finalised or presented to runners.
Issues that must be addressed by counsel include (but are not limited to):
- The dominant-impression test and the statutory presumption of employment under the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA) [ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: confirm citation — the specific section (e.g. s200A) and the precise indicators that trigger the rebuttable presumption must be verified against the current LRA text]. The attorney must assess whether any of those indicators apply on the facts of eRunna's model.
- The applicable SARS interpretation guidance on employee vs independent-contractor status [ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: confirm citation — verify the current SARS Interpretation Note number and its current status] and the question of whether runners ought to be treated as employees for PAYE/UIF/SDL purposes or as independent contractors for provisional tax purposes.
- The [TBD: confirm current legislative status] Labour Laws Amendment Bill / Schedule 11 ("gig worker" provisions) and any regulations in force or pending at the date of finalisation of this Agreement.
- Potential liability under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) and the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 (UIA) if a classification court or tribunal finds an employment relationship to exist.
- Whether eRunna's platform design, algorithmic dispatch model, deactivation powers, and earnings structure, taken together, materially alter the classification analysis.
Pending attorney sign-off, this Agreement describes the intended contractual structure only. The intended structure is that runners engage eRunna as independent contractors providing services on their own account. Nothing in this Agreement must be construed as eRunna making a legal representation about the final classification outcome.
2. Eligibility
- You must be at least 18 years of age.
- You must hold a valid South African identity document (green ID book or smart card) or, where permitted, a valid South African work permit or equivalent document authorising you to perform work on your own account.
- You must hold a valid South African bank account in your own name for payout purposes.
- You must have a smartphone capable of running the eRunna runner app.
- If performing vehicle-based deliveries, you must hold a valid South African driver's licence appropriate to the vehicle you use and maintain any legally required motor vehicle insurance for that vehicle.
- You must not be subject to any order or agreement that would prohibit you from providing services of this nature.
3. Know Your Customer (KYC) verification; identity and banking
As a condition of accessing the platform, eRunna verifies your identity and banking details before you may access runner features and before any earnings may be paid out [ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: any statutory obligation to verify (as opposed to this platform requirement) depends on the unresolved FICA accountable-institution question in clause 1 / the compliance programme — do not assert a legal duty until counsel confirms it]. By registering, you consent to and must co-operate with the following verification steps:
- Identity document: You must supply a clear copy of your South African identity document (or permitted work authorisation). We will verify this against available records. [TBD: specify third-party identity-verification provider].
- Selfie / liveness check: You must complete a real-time selfie or liveness check as part of onboarding. The resulting image and biometric template will be processed as described in section 4 below.
- Banking verification: You must supply your bank account details. We conduct a bank account verification check to confirm the account is in your name before payouts are enabled. [TBD: specify banking-verification provider].
- Ongoing KYC: We reserve the right to request updated identity documents or re-verification at any time. Failure to complete re-verification may result in suspension of payout access pending successful verification.
4. Biometric data and POPIA consent
This section requires your separate, explicit, and informed consent. Biometric information is a special category of personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). We may not process your biometric information without your explicit consent unless another lawful ground under POPIA applies.
The biometric information we collect from you as part of runner KYC is:
- A photographic image of your face captured during the liveness/selfie check at onboarding.
- [TBD: confirm whether a biometric template (mathematical representation of facial features) is generated and stored, or only the image — this distinction is material under POPIA and must be confirmed with your identity-verification provider].
We use this information for the following purposes:
- To verify that you are the person named in your identity document (once, at onboarding).
- [TBD: confirm whether ongoing liveness/photo checks are performed at login, during delivery sessions, or on a periodic basis — if so, this section must be expanded and the additional purposes must be clearly stated].
- To comply with our identity-verification obligations.
Your biometric information will be processed by [TBD: identity-verification provider name] on our behalf as an operator under POPIA. It will be retained for [TBD: retention period, to align with the Data Retention Policy and POPIA minimum / maximum applicable periods]. After that period, it will be deleted or de-identified.
You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us at info@erunna.app. Please note that withdrawing consent for biometric processing will mean we can no longer complete your KYC verification, which will prevent you from accessing runner features of the platform.
By ticking the biometric consent checkbox at registration and proceeding through the liveness check, you explicitly consent to the processing of your biometric information as described in this section.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: biometric consent mechanism] Counsel must confirm that the in-app consent mechanism (separate tick-box, pre-check explanation, audit-log of consent event with timestamp and version) satisfies the POPIA special-personal-information consent requirements [ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: confirm citation — verify the specific POPIA section (e.g. s27) governing consent to process special personal information] and the Information Regulator's guidance on biometric consent. The consent must be a standalone act, separate from acceptance of this Agreement as a whole.
5. Services; platform access
- Upon successful registration and KYC, eRunna grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the eRunna runner app solely to receive and fulfil errand and delivery jobs made available through the platform.
- You are not required to accept any particular job. You choose when to go online and which jobs to accept, subject to the conduct requirements in section 11.
- eRunna's algorithmic dispatch system may offer you jobs based on proximity, rating, and platform parameters. eRunna does not guarantee any minimum number of jobs or any minimum earnings.
- eRunna reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature of the runner app at any time.
6. Earnings and payouts
- Earnings per job are calculated according to the fee schedule displayed in the runner app at the time of job acceptance, which eRunna may update from time to time with reasonable notice.
- Platform service fees or commissions are deducted from your gross earnings as set out in the fee schedule.
- Payouts are processed via Paystack Transfers to your verified South African bank account on the payout schedule displayed in the app. [TBD: confirm current payout frequency and minimum payout threshold].
- Payouts are subject to successful completion of KYC and ongoing identity verification. eRunna may withhold payouts where there is a reasonable suspicion of fraud, a dispute under investigation, or a failure of KYC re-verification, pending resolution.
- eRunna reserves the right to recover, set off, or adjust earnings in respect of: (a) confirmed fraudulent activity; (b) amounts paid in error; (c) a customer refund attributable to your conduct or failure to deliver.
- See also the Payout Policy.
7. Tax obligations
Under the intended independent-contractor structure (subject to the attorney review in section 1 above):
- You are responsible for your own tax affairs. eRunna does not withhold PAYE on your behalf in this structure.
- You are required to register with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) as a provisional taxpayer and to submit provisional tax returns and pay provisional tax in respect of income earned through the platform, in accordance with the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962.
- eRunna will issue you with an annual earnings statement for the tax year to support your tax return. [TBD: confirm format and delivery method of earnings statements].
- You indemnify eRunna against any SARS assessment, penalty, or interest arising from your failure to register, declare, or pay tax on your platform earnings.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: tax treatment — PAYE / UIF / SDL] If counsel determines (or a tribunal/court finds) that an employment relationship exists, eRunna may have obligations to withhold PAYE, contribute to UIF, and pay SDL. This section must be revised accordingly following classification sign-off. The indemnity in this section cannot displace statutory obligations if an employment relationship is found.
8. Equipment, costs, and insurance
- You are responsible for providing and maintaining your own smartphone, data connectivity, and any vehicle or equipment used to fulfil jobs.
- All costs associated with your equipment, data, fuel, and vehicle maintenance are your sole responsibility.
- You are responsible for arranging and maintaining any insurance cover you require, including but not limited to personal accident cover, goods-in-transit cover where relevant, and motor vehicle insurance if you use a vehicle.
- eRunna does not provide personal accident insurance, goods-in-transit insurance, or motor vehicle insurance for runners. [TBD: confirm whether eRunna maintains any group public-liability cover that extends to runner operations, and if so, describe its scope and limits here].
9. Prohibited goods: right and duty to refuse (ADR 0075)
eRunna's platform must not be used to facilitate the purchase, sale, sourcing, transport, or delivery of:
- Counterfeit, pirated, or illicit goods of any description, including but not limited to goods that are the subject of intellectual-property infringement, goods cleared or being cleared from grey or illicit trade in or around the Johannesburg CBD, or goods bearing false or fraudulent trade marks.
- Goods the possession or transport of which is prohibited or regulated under South African law without a licence or permit that neither you nor eRunna holds (including but not limited to dangerous weapons, controlled substances, and alcohol without the requisite authorisation).
- Any goods or errands that you know or reasonably suspect to be connected with criminal activity.
You have both the right and the duty to refuse any errand or delivery job where you know or reasonably suspect the goods or errand fall into any of the categories above. Exercising this right will not result in any penalty, rating deduction, or adverse action against your account.
If you are in doubt about the nature of goods you have been asked to collect or deliver, you must decline the job and report your concern through the in-app support channel or by emailing info@erunna.app. eRunna will investigate.
Knowingly facilitating the transport or delivery of prohibited, counterfeit, or illicit goods is grounds for immediate permanent deactivation and may be reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and relevant regulatory authorities.
10. Conduct and community standards
- Treat customers, merchants, and other runners with respect. Harassment, discrimination, threatening behaviour, or abuse of any kind is grounds for immediate deactivation.
- Handle goods with reasonable care. You are responsible for loss of or damage to goods in your possession during delivery to the extent caused by your negligence or wilful conduct.
- Comply with all applicable road traffic laws and safety regulations when performing deliveries.
- Do not use the platform, customer personal information, or contact details obtained through the platform for any purpose other than fulfilment of the specific job for which the information was provided.
- Do not attempt to circumvent the platform (including by soliciting customers to transact outside eRunna) or interfere with platform operations.
- Maintain the confidentiality of your account credentials.
- Report any safety incident, accident, or suspicious activity to eRunna promptly via in-app support or info@erunna.app.
11. Deactivation and suspension
- Temporary suspension may be applied pending investigation of a complaint, a safety incident, a disputed job, a KYC re-verification request, or a suspected policy breach.
- Permanent deactivation may be applied for: confirmed serious misconduct; knowingly facilitating prohibited or counterfeit goods; fraud; harassment or abuse of a customer or merchant; a sustained pattern of policy violations; or a finding that you have provided false information during KYC.
- Where feasible, eRunna will notify you of a suspension or deactivation and the reason for it. You may request a review by contacting info@erunna.app within [TBD: confirm review request window, e.g. 14 days] of notification. eRunna's decision following review is final.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: deactivation procedure and LRA implications] Counsel must advise whether the deactivation procedure must satisfy any procedural fairness requirements analogous to dismissal procedures under the LRA, given the classification uncertainty. If runners are found to be employees, deactivation may amount to dismissal and must comply with the LRA's unfair-dismissal provisions [ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: confirm citation — verify the specific LRA chapter and sections governing dismissal procedure]. This section must be revised accordingly.
12. Personal information and data (POPIA)
We process your personal information in order to provide and operate the eRunna platform. The full details of how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information — including your rights as a data subject under POPIA — are set out in our Privacy Policy.
Key points for runners:
- Your name, photo, and rating are shared with customers to whom you are matched.
- Your real-time location is shared with matched customers and with merchants from whose premises you collect, for the duration of an active delivery session.
- Your identity and banking details are shared with our KYC and payout providers as set out in section 3.
- Your biometric information is handled under the separate consent in section 4.
- To exercise POPIA data-subject rights (access, correction, deletion, objection), contact our Information Officer at [TBD: Information Officer name and contact email / postal address].
13. Intellectual property
- eRunna and its licensors own all intellectual property in the platform, the runner app, and the eRunna brand. Nothing in this Agreement transfers any IP to you.
- You grant eRunna a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use your ratings, reviews, and aggregated performance data to operate and improve the platform.
- You must not reproduce, adapt, or distribute any eRunna branding, trade marks, or platform materials without our prior written consent.
14. Indemnity
You indemnify and hold harmless eRunna (Pty) Ltd, [TBD: confirm holding company / parent entity name], and each of their directors, officers, employees, agents, and subcontractors from and against any claims, losses, damages, penalties, fines, costs (including legal costs on an attorney-and-own-client scale), and expenses arising from or in connection with:
- your breach of this Agreement;
- any act or omission by you in the course of providing runner services, including road accidents, personal injury, or property damage;
- your failure to meet your tax obligations;
- your knowing facilitation of prohibited or counterfeit goods;
- any claim by a third party arising from your conduct.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: enforceability of indemnity against a found employee] If runners are found to be employees, this indemnity may be unenforceable or may need to be substantially redrawn. Counsel must advise.
15. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, eRunna's aggregate liability to you arising out of or related to this Agreement or your use of the platform (whether in contract, delict, or otherwise) shall not exceed the total earnings paid to you by eRunna in the 30 days immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
eRunna is not liable for: indirect, consequential, or special loss; loss of earnings or income (other than earnings already accrued on the platform); loss of opportunity; or any loss arising from your own vehicle, equipment, or third-party actions.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: limitation of liability — CPA and statutory employee rights] Counsel must advise whether the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 applies to runners as "consumers" of eRunna's platform services (which would override certain limitations), and whether any statutory employee rights cannot be excluded by contract if an employment relationship is found.
16. Governing law and dispute resolution
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Disputes shall be referred to the jurisdiction of the courts having jurisdiction in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
[ATTORNEY-REQUIRED: dispute resolution mechanism] Counsel must advise whether a CCMA or Bargaining Council jurisdiction clause is required or advisable in light of the classification risk, and whether an alternative dispute resolution (mediation/arbitration) clause would be enforceable and appropriate.
17. Amendments
eRunna may amend this Agreement from time to time. We will provide you with reasonable advance notice of material amendments via the runner app or by email. Continued use of the platform after the effective date of any amendment constitutes acceptance of the amended Agreement.
18. Entire agreement; severability
This Agreement, together with the Privacy Policy, Payout Policy, and any applicable fee schedule, constitutes the entire agreement between you and eRunna in respect of your engagement as a runner. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable by a competent court, that provision shall be severed and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force.
19. Contact
Questions about this Agreement: info@erunna.app or 010 140 6554.
Information Officer (POPIA): [TBD: Information Officer name and dedicated contact].
Related policies
- Privacy Policy — full POPIA disclosures; data-subject rights; subprocessors.
- Payout Policy — earnings calculations, fee schedule, payout schedules, withholding conditions.
- Data Retention Policy — retention periods for runner personal and biometric information.
- Terms of Service — general platform terms applicable to all users.
- Subprocessors — identity-verification and payout providers who process your data.
- Support — how to raise a concern, report prohibited goods, or request a deactivation review.