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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Germany
In 2019, an online-micro-worker filed a lawsuit against the crowdworking platform Roamler, which he used to work for in Munich. Roamler had terminated the collaboration with the worker without further notice. The crowdworker took the claim to court in collaboration with the union of metal workers (IG Metall) arguing that he should not be seen as self-employed since he relied on the platform for gaining his income to a large extent (he had gained 60 percent of his earnings via Roamler). After losing the dispute at first instance at the Regional Labour Court in Munich, the National Labour Court ruled that the worker had to be understood as employee. It argued that the platform made use of elements of gamification, through which it secures the attachment of the workers. This system operates through the perpetual provision of spontaneous offers for micro-jobs. In this way, the workers are highly determined by the platform, since it dictates the location, time and content of their occupations. This court ruling marked the first time a crowdworker was classified as employee by a German court.
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.
