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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United Kingdom
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is a trade union representing low paid migrant workers, such as outsourced cleaners and security guards, and platform workers in UK.
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) represents mainly low paid migrant workers, such as outsourced cleaners and security guards, and platform workers. IWGB was founded in 2012, and its branches undertake campaigns for better pay and working conditions. IWGB has taken to court several platform operators on a range of employment matters.
On 23 March 2020, IWGB announced that the union would sue the government to denounce that statutory sick pay arrangements in the light of COVID-19 discriminate against workers from ethnic minorities, women and platform workers. The union pleas that the government’s 80% wage subsidies for employees further discriminate against platform workers. On the same day, the union launched a £20,000 (€22,261) crowd-funder to protect itself from potential legal costs.
On 21 October 2020, IWGB attended the High Court to bring a judicial review that could extend health and safety rights to all ‘workers’, including workers in the platform economy. Many of these workers, including Uber drivers and parcel couriers, were designated ‘key workers’ by the government during the first wave of COVID-19.
On 13 November 2020, the High Court has ruled in favour of IWGB that the UK government has failed to transpose important EU health and safety protections into UK law. The judgment means that platform workers are entitled to the same EU-derived health and safety rights as employees. Key rights are to be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by the business they are working for and the right to take legal action against platforms who dismiss them for refusing work in dangerous conditions. The UK government must take steps to ensure that workers have the same protection as employees.
Further reading:
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.
