Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 443 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in November 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.
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The database currently contains 443 entries and was last updated in November 2025.
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Ireland
The Irish Department of Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment held a public consultation to seek views from stakeholders on the new EU Platform Work Directive. This directive aims to improve working conditions and correctly classify the employment status of workers. The feedback gathered will inform the process of transposing this EU directive into Irish national law.
The consultation paper asks specific questions broken down following the same structure as the directive.
Chapter I: General Provisions The consultation asks about the practical application of the directive's key definitions, such as "digital labour platform" and "intermediary". It seeks to know if these definitions will be challenging to apply in practice and if they adequately cover all aspects of platform work. The paper also probes the role of intermediaries, asking how regularly they are used and whether their involvement affects the working conditions of platform workers.
Chapter II: Employment Status Regarding employment status, the government is asking what factors might influence a worker's preference for being an employee versus self-employed. It also seeks sector-specific examples of worker misclassification and practical "indicators of control"—such as how work is allocated or hours are scheduled—that show a platform is managing a worker. Finally, it asks what measures would ensure the new legal presumption of employment is applied fairly and what kind of guidance would be most useful for platforms and workers.
Chapter III: Algorithmic Management This section contains a detailed set of questions about automated systems. The consultation asks about the types of personal data platforms commonly process and how transparent they are about this. It seeks input on how to meaningfully consult workers during data protection impact assessments and what kinds of automated decisions should always require human review. The government is also gathering information on the health and safety risks associated with algorithmic management, such as stress, and how workers can be effectively consulted before new automated systems are introduced.
Chapter IV: Transparency with Regard to Platform Work The questions on transparency focus on reporting requirements. The paper asks what types of information platforms should be required to report to national authorities. It also seeks to understand how these reporting obligations can be effective without creating an excessive administrative burden for the platforms.
Chapter V: Remedies and Enforcement For enforcement, the consultation asks about the dispute resolution processes currently available to platform workers. It aims to identify the challenges workers face when trying to access these remedies or get representation, and how these challenges could be addressed. The paper also asks about the necessary features for secure communication channels to protect worker privacy and what types of evidence are most important for resolving disputes.
Final Provisions and Other Observations The consultation concludes by asking for any general observations on the directive's final provisions (which cover implementation) and provides a space for any other relevant feedback not captured by the specific chapter questions.
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.
