Platform work database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s Platform Work Database provides information on 456 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in May 2026 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 456 entries and was last updated in May 2026.
The Italian Government issued the Decree-Law No. 62/2026 ("Primo Maggio") on 30 April 2026. The decree covers employment incentives, fair wages, and measures to combat digital labour exploitation ("caporalato digitale"). On platform work generally, the decree establishes that employment status is determined by actual working conditions, not contra…
In February 2026, the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, led by Prosecutor Paolo Storari, intervened in the operations of Deliveroo Italy. The court availed itlself of Article 34 of the Italian Anti-Mafia Code, a preventive measure typically applied to businesses suspected of being influenced by criminal activity or, as in this case, systemic labou…
Italian prosecutors placed Foodinho, the Italian subsidiary of Glovo, under judicial supervision (a preventative judicial measure that affects the governance of the company) on 10 February 2026. This action follows an investigation into the Chief Executive Officer regarding allegations of labour exploitation. The Carabinieri labour unit executed a…
The Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) upheld a 2022 ruling by the Turin court of appeal with a new ruling Sentenza n. 28772/2025, establishing that food delivery riders must be classified as "collaboratori etero-organizzati" (externally organised collaborators). This classification subjects them to protections and rules of subordinate e…
The Italian Data Protection Authority has fined Foodinho S.r.l., a company within the Glovo group (which Delivery Hero bought in 2022), €5 million for illegally processing the personal data of over 35,000 couriers via its digital platform. This decision followed an in-depth investigation initiated by the Authority, which revealed that the company …
On 20 June 2023 the Court of Palermo in southern Italy formalised a ruling which requires the Spanish multinational, Glovo (operating in Italy under the name Foodinho), to disclose and explain the AI logic and mechanism used to assign deliveries to riders. Glovo, owned by the German Delivery Hero, has had its claim that such information could not …
The Italian so-called Transparency Decree introduces significant new transparency and predictability requirements for employers, with several provisions directly impacting platform work. Its broad scope explicitly covers non-standard work relationships, including platform and gig economy workers.
Key provisions include:
Algorithmic Transparency - …
Decree 104/2022 transposes EU Directive 2019.1152 into Italian law.
Transposed provisions from the new Directive, Decree 104/2022
Deliverance Milano is a union of food delivery riders in Milan supporting mobilization, networking as well as knowledge dissemination around gig work. Among others, the group supports workers with the organisation of assemblies for workplace representation. In this sense, it coordinated the first trade union assembly among the JustEat riders in Oc…
Casa del Rider is a local initiative implemented in the context of the project ‘New jobs new protections’ stemming from the collaboration between the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), the CGIL trade union and the Napoli Pedala association.
The main goal of the project is to improve the working conditions of worker…
On 2 July 2015, the Court of Milan confirmed the interim injunction obtained by the Taxi Drivers Association of May 2015. Several consumers' associations joined the Taxi Drivers Association in the proceedings.
A decision by a panel ("Collegio") of the Specialised Enterprise Section ("Sezione Specializzata Impresa") of the Court of Milan (Tribunale…
On 25 May 2015, the Court of Milan approved an interim injunction against Uber's 'UberPop' service, which matches demand for car rides with providers owning private cars. This was in favour of various Taxi Drivers Associations who had brought the case together. The Court ruled that the UberPop service was a direct competitor for taxi drivers and c…
43 records found
This digital story presents headline findings on the working conditions and information needs of online platform workers across key areas: Who platform workers are; Where they operate geographically; Their working conditions and earnings; How algorithmic management impacts their work; Information needs about rights and protecting workers in the digital economy.
This report analyses the working conditions and information needs of online platform workers based on a survey of 3 830 workers across 15 EU Member States. Unlike existing research focused on on-location platform work, this study examines workers who provide services entirely online. The findings reveal a workforce that is predominantly male, of prime working age and highly educated, primarily delivering skilled professional services rather than microtasks.
Building on Eurofound’s established conceptual framework of the digital age, this concept paper examines how the unfolding artificial intelligence wave is set to transform not only the world of work and employment, but also the wider fabric of society, from the delivery and quality of public services to the production, dissemination and governance of information. The analysis is guided by four vectors of change – automation, augmentation, digitisation and platformisation – identified as the central drivers shaping this transformation. The concepts presented in this paper will inform Eurofound’s future research on artificial intelligence and algorithmic management.
Findings of a new Eurofound–ELA survey conducted in 15 Member States confirm the widespread use of intrusive algorithmic management practices in online platform work.
This working paper aims to provide an overview of the legal landscape of online platform work in the EU, focusing on a set of key issues relating to the rights and protections of online platform workers. Specifically, regulations concerning working conditions and social protection, the complexities of cross-border platform work, and regulations on algorithmic management, data privacy, and protection.
This article explores how algorithmic management operates, distinguishing between rule-based and AI-driven approaches, and examines how it automates key managerial functions such as planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. It also considers the implications for workers’ employment status, drawing on recent court rulings, and assesses its impact on working conditions, highlighting both potential benefits such as efficiency gains and risks including reduced autonomy, unfair treatment and privacy infringements.
