Lack of stability, traditional labor rights and self-employment — these are the main characteristics of platform work. Those doing this work are service providers working for platforms such as Uber, Wolt or Glovo, which offer both transportation and food delivery. Although formally the “employees” of these companies are individuals engaged in sole economic activity, it has been repeatedly pointed out that their work de facto does not differ from that which entitles them to labor rights, social benefits and health insurance. This is due to the fact that the platforms through which these employees operate, such as Uber drivers, give them top-down orders of a professional nature and exercise control over them similar to that covered by employees hired under an employment contract.
What does the new EU Directive introduce?
The directive, adopted by the European Union on 14 October 2024, was preceded by several key legislative steps, during which the EU Council, the European Parliament and the labour and social ministers of the Member States reached an agreement.
The new provisions of the Directive introduce the presumption of an employment relationship. This means that if people working for the platform are subject to conditions similar to those the employer imposes on the employee — for example, in terms of exercising control over them — they can be treated on an equal footing with full-time employees.
Legal presumption of employment means that in such a situation, a person working for the platform will be able to claim benefits related to employee status, such as benefits or insurance.
This is an important change in the context of the modern phenomenon of precarity, which we wrote about in a separate article on the topic of platform economy (https://jobsdoor.eu/pl/articles/UmjCdmtatgfjZxomQ6CV). The new social class, characterized by job insecurity and unstable working conditions, is often precisely those working in the platform economy. Such a system of work most often includes young people entering the labor market, people with lower education, as well as immigrants and workers in the creative sector. Research has shown that 42% of people working for platforms are in the 18-29 age range and 39% are in the 30-49 age range (“Dependence and Precarity in Platform Economy”, 2020). In total, the directive will cover as many as 28 million people working in this way, a revolutionary change that will provide legal and social security for millions of people. Who will bear the burden of proof of employment?
In order to consider that the collaborators of the platform are not employees (and therefore do not have labor rights), the platform must adequately prove it - it is the platform that has the obligation to demonstrate that the collaborators act fully independently. Therefore, the platform must prove that there is no abuse, such as depriving these people of their labor rights, even though their work actually resembles employment.
The risk that the burden of proof falls on platforms is that they can manipulate facts and present working conditions in a distorted way. So there is a concern that despite the EU's positive work on workers' rights, a person working for the platform may still not get fair treatment. Given the many controversies surrounding Uber — such as tax avoidance, failure to ensure proper working conditions or non-compliance with health and safety rules — it can be concluded that the directive will not magically solve all problems. However, it is an important step towards positive change for the millions of people working on these principles.
Additional issues in the regulation
The Platform Work Directive introduces greater transparency in the use of algorithms in employee management by requiring automated systems to be supervised by qualified employees. This means that employees will not be able to be monitored solely by algorithms or fired based on them. They will also gain the right to challenge decisions made automatically by the system.
Bearing in mind the work system in transport platforms, based on recommendations and algorithms (such as evaluation mechanisms), this is an important change that allows a better and more accurate control of work by a human rather than by an automated system.
In the following stages, the Directive will be signed by the Council and the European Parliament and will enter into force after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will have two years to implement the rules into national regulations.
summary
Millions of workers employed in the platform economy are also millions of precarious situations, poorer working conditions and lack of formal control. The new EU Platform Work Directive is a significant step towards better legal and social protection. Although platform liability is a broad topic requiring further regulation, the EU solution introduces important controls and transparency mechanisms, increasing the chances of fair treatment of these people in a fast-growing labour market.
Sources: 1. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/pl/press/press-releases/2024/10/14/platform-workers-council-adopts-new-rules-to-improve-their-working-conditions/ 2. https://www.prawo.pl/kadry/dyrektywa-o-pracownikach-platformowych,525908.html 3. https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/PE-89-2024-INIT/pl/pdf 4. https://jobsdoor.eu/pl/articles/UmjCdmtatgfjZxomQ6CV
