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.
Scope of the Initiative
Two measures have been introduced to Chapter 4 of the Labour Relations Act (Act), improving the protection of platform workers:
In November 2022, the Belgian transport union ABVV-BTB and Uber announced a collaboration to improve working conditions for drivers using the Uber app in Belgium
This is the first agreement of its kind in the European Union.
The agreement seeks to improve protection for drivers as Uber and ABVV-BTB will cooperate through social dialogue on issues…
In the first ever Tribunal or court ruling in Belgium on the qualification of an employment relationship in the platform economy, on 8 December 2021, the Labour Tribunal ruled that Deliveroo riders are not employees. The labour prosecutors worked for two years to understand the working conditions of Deliveroo riders, investigating whether the work…
Platform Coop Brussels is a project operating in the Brussels region, which actively supports the establishment of platform cooperatives and the creation of networks among cooperatives.
The project is led by Smart (société mutuelle pour artistes), SAW-B (Fédération d'économie sociale) and Febecoop (an organisation promoting cooperative models), an…
The Belgian Platform Rider Association (ASBL or ‘PRA’, short for ‘the association’) is a non-profit association striving to improve mobility and traffic safety in Belgium. To facilitate this, the ASBL aims to increase its members’ access to alternative transportation services via platforms such as Uber. Furthermore, it promotes the usage of non-mo…
Smart is a cooperative production house for freelancers (which may include platform workers) and projects that have been awarded cultural grants.
It comprises of 90,000 members in nine EU countries. Membership is based on an annual fee. Smart serves as employer to its members providing administrative, social and legal protection. The employed memb…
15 records found
| Date | Title | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2021 | Court judgement on employment status (Uber)
Court ruling | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 23 November 2021 | Brussels vs. Uber
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 23 November 2021 | Courier cooperative Rayon9
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 23 November 2021 | Courier cooperative Molenbike
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 23 November 2021 | Deliveroo strikes Netherlands and Belgium
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 12 October 2021 | Transnational Federation of Couriers
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 17 February 2021 | Uber before the Brussels Labour Court concerning the status of a worker
Court ruling | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 22 January 2021 | Loi De Croo (Belgie programmawet 2016021055)
Initiative | No platform work typology |
|
| 22 January 2021 | Deliveroo and Qover
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 22 January 2021 | Collectif des Courier-e-s (Couriers Collective)
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 22 January 2021 | United Freelancers and ACV-CSC
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 21 January 2021 | Dataset worker resistance
Initiative | On-location platform-determined routine work |
|
| 21 January 2021 | CoopCycle
Initiative | No platform work typology |
|
| 21 January 2021 | FGTB - ABVV Platform
Initiative | No platform work typology |
|
| 7 July 2020 | 187 - Décision anonymiséee
Court ruling | On-location platform-determined routine work |
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.
