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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Italy
The Italian so-called Transparency Decree introduces significant new transparency and predictability requirements for employers, with several provisions directly impacting platform work. Its broad scope explicitly covers non-standard work relationships, including platform and gig economy workers.
Key provisions include:
Algorithmic Transparency - Art.1bis (Additional information obligations). Platforms and other employers using automated decision-making or monitoring systems are now obligated to provide workers and trade unions with clear information regarding:
Automated Systems: Employers must inform workers about the use of automated decision-making or monitoring systems affecting employment decisions, task assignments, and performance evaluations. Detailed Information: Must provide specifics about the systems' logic, data used, control measures, accuracy, and potential discriminatory impacts. Worker Rights: Workers can access data and request additional information through union representatives. Transparency: Information must be communicated transparently and in a structured format. Safety and Compliance: Employers must ensure compliance with data protection regulations and conduct risk assessments. Communication: Information must be provided to workers and union representatives, with inspection possibilities by relevant authorities.
Minimum predictability of work Art. 9 Employers cannot impose work on employees in unpredictable work organisations unless the work is scheduled within predetermined hours and days and employees are informed with reasonable notice. *Right to Refuse: Employees can refuse assignments without disciplinary action if conditions are not met.
*Minimum Guaranteed Hours: Employers must inform employees about minimum guaranteed hours and additional pay for extra hours.
*Cancellation of Assignments: Employers must compensate employees if assignments are cancelled without reasonable notice.
*Exclusions: Does not apply to maritime workers and fishing sector workers.
Prohibition of Exclusivity Clauses**: The decree generally forbids employers from restricting workers from taking up employment with other companies outside of their scheduled working hours. This is highly relevant for platform workers who often work across multiple applications ("multi-apping").
Expanded Information Rights: All workers, including those on platforms, must receive greatly expanded and detailed written information at the start of the work relationship, covering salary components, notice periods, overtime conditions, and training rights, thereby clarifying what are often opaque contractual terms in the platform economy.
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.
