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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Belgium
On 13 June 2025, the Brussels Labour Court ruled that an Uber driver should be classified as an employee, not a self-employed worker. This judgement overturns a lower court's decision from 21 December 2022, which had classified the driver as an independent contractor.
The case began in 2020 when the driver challenged his status, arguing that Uber was organising and controlling his work.
Following a series of appeals, the case landed at the Brussels Labour Court which ultimately sided with the employee.
The Court found that Uber's control over work conditions, such as pricing, ride allocation, and performance monitoring, indicates a relationship of subordination, which is incompatible with self-employment. Despite Uber’s contractual labeling, the actual working conditions met the legal criteria for an employment relationship in Belgium.
The CSC union welcomed the ruling, calling it a step against the misuse of false self-employment to circumvent labour and social rights. However, they criticised the lack of enforcement, noting that many Uber and Deliveroo workers are still not recognised as employees despite similar legal decisions.
The Administrative Commission for the Regulation of Employment Relations (CRT) in Belgium determined that the working relationship between a driver (X) and the platform (Y) was not one of self-employment …
In December 2022, a Brussels court ruled in favour of Uber in a case regarding a driver’s employment status. The court determined that the driver had "a working relationship of …
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.
