Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 411 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in March 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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France
The case involved Monsieur Y Z, a bicycle courier, appealing against a Paris Labour Court (Conseil de Prud'hommes) decision. The Labour Court had declared itself materially incompetent to hear his claims against Deliveroo France (SAS DELIVEROO FRANCE) for back pay, damages, etc., ruling that the dispute should be heard by the Commercial Court (Tribunal de Commerce)
The central issue for the Court of Appeal was whether M. Y Z had an employment contract (contrat de travail) with Deliveroo, which would establish the Labour Court's jurisdiction, or if he was an independent service provider (prestataire de services indépendant)
.Y Z was registered as an "auto-entrepreneur" (self-employed). Under French law (Art. L.8221-6), individuals registered as such are presumed not to be employees unless it can be proven they operate under conditions of permanent legal subordination to the client. The burden was on M. Y Z to prove this subordination existed. However, while M. Y Z signed a "service provision contract" explicitly stating independence [cite: 11, 27-31, 33], the court examined the actual working conditions.
Indicators of Independence:
Arret 9 Novembre 2017 N. 16/12875
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.
