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.
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Portugal
On 01 February 2024, the Lisbon Labour Court has found the existence of an employment relationship between a platform worker and a platform in Portugal.
This court decision constitutes a landmark ruling because this is the first time an employment relationship between a digital platform and a platform worker has been recognised in Portugal. The court has made its decision based on the amendment of the Portuguese Labour Code under the "Decent Work Agenda Law" which has entered into force on 01 May 2023.
More specifically, the court has recognised a relationship of permanent employment between an Uber Eats courier and the platform. This decision is retroactive and applies from 01 May 2023 onwards. The reasons behind the court decision include that the platform controls the activity of workers, has the ability to restrict the extent to which workers can accept or refuse orders, and sets the renumeration for the trips carried out by workers.
The Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office had brought the case to the Lisbon Labour Court, following an investigation conducted by the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT), which led to 861 reports being sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The Portuguese government have published their Decent Work Agenda (Agenda de Trabalho Digno), Law No. 13/2023 as of 03 April 2023, amending the Labour Code as well as other related …
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.
