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.
Search
The database currently contains 386 entries and was last updated in February 2024.
Tag
Active
Belgium
Scope of the Initiative
Two measures have been introduced to Chapter 4 of the Labour Relations Act (Act), improving the protection of platform workers:
A new chapter titled ‘Presumption regarding the nature of the employment relationship for digital commissioning platforms’ has been inserted into Chapter 4 of the Act. To define the scope which the Act can be applied to, ‘digital platform principal’, the ‘platform worker’ and the ‘platform operator’ are defined in Article 337/3. The definitions provided are as follows:
The ‘digital platform principal’ is ‘the provider of a for profit service that, by means of an algorithm or any other equivalent method or technology, is able to exercise a decision-making or controlling power with regard to the manner in which performance is to be realised and with regard to labour or pay conditions, and that provides a paid service that meets all the following requirements: a) it is provided, at least in part, remotely via electronic means, such as a website or a mobile application; b) it is provided at the request of a recipient of the service’. Note, this does not apply to platforms such as Air BnB, where the main purpose is to exploit assets or resell shared goods or services or that provide a service on a non-profit basis. The ‘platform worker’ is ‘any person performing platform work through a digital platform principal, regardless of the nature of the contractual relationship or its qualification by the parties involved’. The ‘platform operator’ refers to ‘the natural or legal person who, directly or through an intermediary, operates the digital platform principal.’
The ‘rebuttable legal presumption of the existence of an employment contract’ for the platform economy in Article 337/3, §2 of the Act has eight criteria which help identify when a ‘platform worker’ and platform should have the legal presumption of an employment relationship. The criteria are as follows:
Accident coverage for self-employed ‘platform workers’ in Chapter 4 of the Act must be offered by the ‘platform operator’ to self-employed platform workers. This must cover bodily harm resulting from accidents occurring during the performance, or on the way to and from, remunerated activities for the platform. This means regardless of a platform worker being in an employment relationship or self-employed, those working for the platform will de facto receive an offer for occupational accident insurance.
The platform operator who fails to fulfil this obligation will be held civilly liable for damages to the platform workers. Moreover, Chapter 14 of the Labour Deal Act in Book XV, Title 3, Chapter 2 of the Economic Law Code provides a level 2 criminal sanction for ‘platform operators’ not conforming with this obligation. Moreover, Article 581 of the Judicial Code will be amended so that labour tribunals -and courts of appeal will also have jurisdiction to hear disputes concerning this “common law (industrial accident) insurance”. Thus, self-employed platform workers will thus have equal access to the same courts as employees.
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.
