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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Ireland
The court case concerns the contract between Karshan (Midlands) Limited Trading as Domino’s Pizza (Dominos) and the delivery drivers. The contract identified delivery drivers as ‘independent contractors’, stipulating among others that:
Furthermore, all drivers were required to sign a document to confirm that the appellant ‘has no responsibility or liability whatsoever for deducting and/or paying PRSI or tax’ on monies which the appellant paid for their work.
In 2020, the Supreme Court found that the delivery drivers should be treated as employees for tax purposes. In a further decision published in May 2022, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision, noting, amongst others, that there was no requirement on the part of the driver to make himself available for work.
The following recent changes to this court ruling have been recorded.
In October 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the delivery drivers should be treated as employees. In its argument, it stated that 'The evidence disclosed close control by Karshan over the drivers when at work, and while there were some features of their activities that were consistent with their being independent contractors engaged in business on their own account, the Commissioner was entitled to conclude that the preponderance of the evidence pointed to the drivers carrying on Karshan’s business rather than their own. '
The Supreme Court's ruling of October 2023 is based on five guiding questions to determine contractual relationships with workers.
The Court concluded that the factors pointing to an employment relationship clearly outweighed the arguments against this provided by Karshan.
In July 2021, the Irish Department of Social Protection published an updated version of the Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status. This concerns the classification of workers as self-employed …
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.
