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.
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Netherlands
In September 2021, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that Uber drivers are employees, not freelancers. Therefore, Uber drivers are covered by the collective labour agreement for taxi transport (CAO Taxivervoer). The workers were represented and supported by FNV.
The reasons brought by FNV (the trade union) to claim that Uber drivers are employees include:
The level of control Uber has over the drivers' work, such as determining fares and handling disputes
The use of algorithmic management, which the court considered a "modern relationship of authority" as an employer
The rating system and disciplining effect, which affects how rides are distributed and access to the application
The fact that Uber unilaterally determines many aspects of a driver's working conditions, including ride allocation, prices, and customer complaints
The Court ruled in favor of FNV, declaring that Uber drivers are employees and that the sectoral collective labor agreement (CAO Taxivervoer) applies to them, including pay requirements and some benefits. The level/instance of ruling is the Amsterdam District Court, which is a first-instance court.
The motivations for the ruling in favor of employee status include:
The level of control exerted by Uber over the drivers' work
The use of algorithmic management
The disciplining effect of the rating system
The lack of entrepreneurial freedom for drivers
The fact that Uber unilaterally determines many aspects of a driver's working conditions
The comparison to the UK Supreme Court ruling and Spain's "riders' law", which also considered the use of algorithms and control over workers' conditions as indicative of an employment relationship.
Uber has been appealing the judgment.
The following recent changes to this court ruling have been recorded.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal held in an interim decision that in order for the court to assess Uber's appeal, it required a number of clarifications from Supreme Court. One such clarification was regarding the relevance of the "external entrepreneurship" factor mentioned in the landmark Deliveroo ruling, which set out specific criterion to be assessed when determining the employment status of a platform worker.
The Supreme Court clarified that there is no hierarchy between the different factors outlined in the Deliveroo ruling, meaning that all factors should be given equal weight. As a result, the "external entrepreneurship" factor is fully relevant when assessing a platform workers employment status. This means that two workers performing the same work for the same contracting party could have different employment statuses.
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.
