European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Royal Decree-Law 9/2021, of 11 May
LAST UPDATE 2023 - THIS CONTENT WILL NOT BE UPDATED
In Spanish, a 'rider' is a delivery person who works for digital platforms. The so-called Rider Law was expected to affect between 18,000 and 30,000 people in Spain when it came into force in August 2021.
The main novelty is that delivery workers will be salaried and not self-employed. In other words, it is based on the premise that the workers who carry out their tasks on digital platforms are workers and have all the rights set out in the Workers' Statute regarding organisation, unionisation, social protection, contributions and salary. In fact, the Rider Law introduces a new additional provision on the presumption of employment in the activities of delivery or distribution of any type of product or merchandise, when the company exercises its powers of organisation, management and control, by means of algorithmic management of the service or working conditions, through a digital platform.
Furthermore, this is the first legislation that incorporates access to information on parameters, rules and instructions of the algorithms of artificial intelligence systems that affect labour decision-making. Specifically, it amends Article 64 of the Workers' Statute, on the rights of information and consultation of the legal representation of workers. Thus, the new Rider Act adds a new paragraph to section 4, which recognises the right of the works council to be informed by the company of the parameters, rules and instructions on which the algorithms or artificial intelligence systems are based that affect decision-making that may have an impact on working conditions, access to and maintenance of employment, including profiling.
Before Royal Decree-Law 9/2021 was passed, companies such as Glovo, Deliveroo and Uber Eats did not employ couriers. They were self-employed, which meant a saving in labour costs for the multinationals and a reduction in Social Security income in social security contributions. After the law came into force, some of these companies, such as Deliveroo, left Spain, others adapted to the new rules of the game and others defied the government and the law.
According to data from a report by the Esade Forum for Technological Humanism, in collaboration with Just Eat, the number of workers with employment contracts in the home delivery sector through digital platforms has doubled in one year. Despite this progress, large platforms such as Glovo and Uber Eats continue to hire freelancers to carry out their deliveries. Many agents consider that progress should be made towards the negotiation of a sectoral collective bargaining agreement that would standardise sufficient wage and employment conditions in the sector.
Eurofound (2023), Spain: Algorithmic management, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/algorithmic-management/spain
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
