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.
Tag
Active
Sweden
The food delivery platform Bolt is neither the employer nor the hirer of its couriers, according to a court ruling.
The court ruling followed Bolt's appeal against an order from the Swedish Work Environment Authority. In October 2022, the Authority had issued an order against Bolt and other platforms to take certain measures to improve the working conditions of its couriers. The Authority assessed that Bolt should be regarded as the employer of the couriers and, therefore, be responsible for their health and safety under the Work Environment Act. The order included a fine of 200,000 SEK.
Bolt appealed the decision, arguing that it is neither the employer nor the hirer of its couriers. The couriers are either employed by other companies or are self-employed. According to the platform, Bolt only provides a digital platform for the couriers to accept delivery jobs. The couriers operate independently once they join the platform, and Bolt has no influence over their work or the tools they use.
The administrative court ruled in favour of Bolt and annulled the Swedish Work Environment Authority's decision, declaring that Bolt is not responsible for the couriers' work environment. The court argued that Bolt has minimal influence over the couriers' work environment, does not supervise them directly, and does not have a fixed place of business.
The court ruling was appealed by the Swedish Work Environment Authority, first to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal, and later to the Supreme Administrative Court. However, the Supreme Administrative Court declined to hear the case, thereby upholding the lower court's decision.
The Decision: Administrative Court in Gothenburg 2023-06-16, case no. 12023-22
The food delivery platform Wolt is responsible for the working conditions of its couriers, according to the Swedish Court of Appeal. The court ruling followed Wolt's appeal against an order …
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.
