Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 386 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in February 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 386 entries and was last updated in February 2024.
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Finland
On 01 July 2023, a new amendment on the Employment Contracts Act in Finland which aims to establish new criteria to distinguish between self-employment and contractual employment relationships has come into force.
This legislative amendment has originated in a proposal prepared by a sub-group on promoting employment of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Finland. Prior to July 2023, the Employment Contracts Act left room for interpretation when it comes to new forms of employment, as the Act only included basic criteria for defining employment relationships. However, these basic criteria did not take into account how work has evolved, especially through the platform economy. To reduce ambiguity, new assessment criteria can now be applied to cases to understand the nature of the legal relationship notwithstanding how the legal relationship has been classified:
The overall consideration of these aspects shifts the focus to the actual working conditions. This amendment aims to safeguard the rights and obligations of the different parties involved, and is to benefit employers, employees, as well as authorities and other stakeholders. Phenomena such as bogus self-employment can, therewith, be targeted more precisely.
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.
