Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 389 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in June 2024 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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The database currently contains 389 entries and was last updated in June 2024.
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Netherlands
In 2018, the platform Temper, which matches demand and supply for staff in hotels, restaurants and cafés, approached the hospitality division of the largest Dutch union FNV (Federation National Unions, FNV-Horeca). As a result, FNV and the platform have signed a ‘cooperation pact’ for a pilot scheme that will last one year and provided legally self-employed Temper workers with training, pensions and insurance. The cooperation between Temper and FNV-Horeca was extended later in 2018 after a trial period of a few months. At that point, further elements were added to the scheme such as improved training offerings and the removal of a software fee that Temper workers had to pay (more information available in Dutch).
However, tensions arose between FNV-Horeca, FNV ABU and FNV Flex. The latter two departments of FNV perceive the initiative as undermining the union’s efforts to fight bogus self-employment. They claim that Temper operates as temporary employment agency instead of as a freelance platform and that it underpays workers, who are falsely defined as freelancers.
Further reading:
The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising.
Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work?
The rapid rise of the platform economy has led to a marked transformation of European labour markets, and existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives have yet to catch up. While platform work offers opportunities for workers and employers and potentially contributes to innovation, economic growth and competitiveness in the EU, it has been criticised from the beginning because of the poor employment and working conditions often experienced by workers.
While 2020 may come to be seen as the year platform work gathered pace and started to go mainstream – thanks in large part to COVID-19 containment measures sparking an increase in food and grocery delivery – 2021 could be the year that regulation of platform work is set in motion.
