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.
Search
The database currently contains 443 entries and was last updated in November 2025.
Tag
Active
Germany
In June 2025, the Berlin Labour Court ruled in favour of Wolt in a dispute concerning the employment status of former courier who had sued Wolt for three months' unpaid wages. The courier, who was originally directly employed by Wolt, had been pressured to join the "Wolt Fleet", a subcontracting system that allows Wolt to avoid employer obligations through the use subcontractors instead of direct employees.
Despite continuing to work for Wolt, using the same app and equipment, the courier's wages were not paid by the fleet manager, leading them to take legal action. The courier argued that Wolt was their de facto employer.
The Berlin labour Court ultimately ruled against the courier, arguing that no employment contract could be proven between the parties due to insufficient evidence.
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.
