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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In October 2021, the food delivery company Glovo announced the so-called ‘Couriers Pledge’. This new initiative sets new social standards for the platform which aim to secure fair working conditions. The pledge lays out standards for earnings, safety, communication and support for development opportunities. These standards are said to apply to all workers affiliated with the platform across the whole market, regardless of their employment status. As of 2021, this concerns 74 000 workers. The changes are set to be implemented within 24 months. However, many couriers work via secondary companies (‘fleet partners’), which have might not follow Glovo’s example. For setting up working conditions standards, Glovo collaborated with the Fairwork Foundation, an academic platform that developed fairness principles for platform work. As a result, Fairwork is committed to assessing Glovo’s implementation of the pledge.
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.
