Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 393 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in August 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 393 entries and was last updated in August 2024.
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EU 27
On April 24th 2024 a political agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and Member States on the Directive on improving the working conditions in platform work. The agreement follows more than two years of negotiation and a previous agreement which was reached in February and confirmed by the EU Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs in March 2024. The initial proposal for a the Directive was put forward by the European Commission in December 2021.
The original proposal sought to address issues of misclassification of employment contract through a set of criteria aiming to establish control. According to the proposal, a legal presumption of employment existed if at least two out of a list of five criteria laid out in Chapter 2, Article 4 were met:
However, these indicators for a presumption of employment were revised during negotiations. The agreed text of the Directive indicates that each Member State is responsible for establishing a legal presumption of employment in their legal systems, to be triggered when facts indicating control and direction are found. The facts indicating control will be determined according to national law and collective agreements, while taking into account EU case-law. The Directive also specifies that the presumption of employment does not have retroactive effects and, thus, only applies once it has been transposed into national legislation by the Member States.
Importantly, Article 5 of the Directive also provides platforms with the possibility to rebut the presumption by proving that the relationship at stake cannot be classified as an employment relationship based on the respective Member State’s legislation.
The Directive also addresses the issue of algorithmic management. In Articles 6-8 of Chapter 3 of the Directive, it is explained that decisions made or assisted by automated means which substantially impact the working conditions of platform workers must be overseen and managed by human beings who possess the requisite knowledge, skills, and authority to do so. Platform workers are also able to request an explanation of such decisions and can appeal them. Moreover, the Directive prohibits the processing of certain forms of data, namely data on private conversations, data on predicted or actual trade union membership, on the emotional state of platform workers, on a worker’s ethnic background, migration status, political or religious opinions, health status, or biometric data. Generally, workers must be informed about the use of automated monitoring as well as automated decision-making systems.
Notably, Chapter 4 of the Directive establishes that digital labour platforms that function as employers are required to report work carried out by platform workers to the relevant labour and social protection authorities of the Member State in which the work is completed and to share pertinent data with those authorities. This is especially relevant for platforms that are based in another country than the one where platform work is carried out.
Lastly, Chapter 5 indicates that Member States must provide access to dispute resolution mechanisms regarding issues included in the Directive and establishes that rights set up through the Directive cannot be infringed upon. More specifically, Article 18 deals with the protection of dismissal for platform workers. It states that if an individual is dismissed, or if their account is deactivating as a result of exercising rights established by the Directive, the platform is obliged to prove that there were other objective reasons underlying the dismissal of a worker.
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.
