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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Estonia
The state-owned postal delivery company Omniva has started an app-based pilot project in Tallinn involving platform workers, allowing people to sign up and work as couriers using their own car and equipment. The project, launched amidst an ongoing labour dispute with employee representatives, has received sharp criticisms from the unions.
The unions argue that the project undermines efforts to raise couriers' minimum wage and violates labour agreements. The unions also criticise the company for not consulting them before implementing the new work model, which they argue risks replacing existing employees with unskilled workers, potentially degrading service quality. Additionally, the unions assert that Omniva's actions violate international labour laws and ILO conventions, urging the state to address these issues to maintain worker trust and service quality.
According to the company, the new project will help it respond to fluctuations in the workload and speed up deliveries, while offering people an opportunity to earn extra income.
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.
