Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 412 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in March 2025 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.
Tag
Inactive
Netherlands
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has ruled that cleaners working through the online platform Helpling should be legally classified as temporary workers. This decision means that they are entitled to rights such as continued wage payment during illness and transition payments if dismissed. This ruling came after the FNV trade union and a cleaning lady working through Helpling challenged an earlier decision by the Subdistrict Court, according to which there was not an employment relationship between the platform and the cleaner but an agreement between the cleaner and the household. The Court also established that the cleaner should not have to pay the fees to the platform, so both parties (cleaner and platform) appealed to the decision. The Court of Appeal based its judgement on the following elements: There are also circumstances that would fit in with a contract between the household and the cleaner, such as the household selecting the cleaner, but those circumstances weigh less heavily for the Court of Appeal.
1) Payment: the household must pay via a payment platform determined by Helpling; 2) Substitutability: in the event of illness of the cleaner, the household can get another cleaner and the household can change cleaners via Helpling. There were also elements that would indicate a contractual relationship between the household and the cleaner, as selecting and instructing the cleaner. For this reason, the Court determined the relationship between the cleaner and the platform to be a temporary employment contract rather than a traditional employment contract, as households (not Helpling) give the work instructions and set wages. The court recognised Helpling as a temporary employment agency, making the households the cleaners' hirers, with no direct employment contract between the cleaners and the households. The FNV welcomed the ruling but urged stronger political action to protect gig economy workers. Helpling stated that it is reviewing the decision.
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.
