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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Portugal
The Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office took legal action against Glovoapp Portugal, arguing that one of its couriers should be recognised as an employee. While the first instance court and the Lisbon Court of Appeal agreed that legal indicators pointing to an employment relationship were present, they ultimately ruled that Glovo had provided enough evidence to overcome this presumption.
The Public Prosecutor's Office appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justiça). The central dispute for the Supreme Court was to determine if Glovo had successfully rebutted the legal presumption of an employment relationship established in the Portuguese Labour Code, or if the courier should, in fact, be classified as an employee.
The Supreme Court found that the courier was an employee, highlighting multiple factors that aligned with the traditional functions of management:
The court downplayed factors that suggested autonomy, such as the courier paying a fee to use the platform. It stated that such contractual clauses are often used to disguise what is truly a dependent employment relationship, the very "scourge" the law was designed to combat.
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the courier. It granted the appeal ("Concedida a Revista"), overturning the previous rulings of the lower courts and declaring that an employment contract existed between the courier and Glovo. This is the highest court in the Portuguese judicial system for this type of case, hearing an appeal on points of law (a "Revista"). The decision was unanimous.
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.
