Platform work database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s Platform Work Database provides information on 469 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in September 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 469 entries and was last updated in September 2026.
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Estonia
The Estonian Government officially approved a draft Platform Work Act on 27 August 2026 (signed in September 2026), introducing a rebuttable presumption of employment and algorithmic management rules before sending the bill to Parliament. Section 8(1): the legal presumption of an employment relationship applies by referencing Section 1 of the Employment Contracts Act (Töölepingu seadus). Under Section 7, establishing whether a relationship is an employment contract depends on the degree of direction and control exercised by the platform. This includes control exerted through automated monitoring or decision-making systems regarding task assignments, pricing/remuneration, activity supervision, or account limitations. Under Section 4(2), classification is determined by the actual nature of the work performed (primacy of facts), regardless of how the parties label the contract
To successfully rebut the presumption, the platform must demonstrate that:
The draft Estonian Platform Work Act sets strict limits on algorithmic management by prohibiting platforms from using automated monitoring or decision-making systems to process sensitive personal data, including workers' emotional or psychological states, private communications, biometric data, or off-duty activity. Platforms must maintain continuous human oversight over automated systems, explicitly banning fully automated decisions that adversely affect workers—such as account suspensions, terminations, or pay withholdings—and requiring direct human intervention for any such action. Additionally, platforms must provide clear transparency regarding the logic and parameters of their algorithms, while granting workers the right to obtain written explanations and demand a human review within 14 calendar days for any automated decision affecting their working conditions or contractual status.
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.
