Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 411 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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TheEmployment Court (Juzgado Social) No. 24 of Barcelona has determined that 748 Deliveroo riders operated as false self-employed and recognised the employment relationship between the riders and the company. The ruling is from a first instance court with an option for appeal. The lawsuit was filed in 2018, and reinforces the same criteria as set the Tribunal Supremo in a case between a courier and Glovo.
The riders argued that they were integrated into Deliveroo's organisational structure, subject to its managerial control, and lacked significant autonomy; they also highlighted their lack of ability to negotiate terms, the monitoring of their performance via GPS (controlling), and the imposition of penalties for rejecting tasks (directing and controlling).
The court ruled in favour of the 748 riders, determining their relationship with Deliveroo to be of a labour nature, classifying them as employees.
Motivation for ruling in favour of employment:
Organisational control: The riders were integrated into Deliveroo's organisational and managerial structure.
Dependency: Riders were dependent on Deliveroo's system for work allocation and payment.
Lack of autonomy: Deliveroo dictated significant aspects of how the work was performed.
Performance monitoring: Use of GPS and other metrics to control and evaluate riders' performance.
Economic risk: Riders did not assume typical business risks; these were borne by Deliveroo.
Link to Judgement No. 259/2020 (SENTENCIA Nº 259/2020
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.
