The new rules, agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in February and adopted by 554 votes to 56 with 24 abstentions, aim to ensure that the employment status of platform workers is correctly classified and that false self-employment is corrected. They also regulate, for the first time ever in the EU, the use of algorithms in the workplace.
Employment relationship
The new law introduces a legal presumption of an employment relationship (as opposed to self-employment) which is triggered when circumstances indicating control and management exist. These circumstances will be determined in accordance with national legislation and collective agreements, as well as taking into account EU jurisprudence.
The directive requires EU countries to establish a legal presumption of employment at national level that can be rebutted. The aim is to correct the power imbalance between the digital platform and the person performing the platform work. It is up to the digital platform to prove that there is no employment relationship.
New rules on algorithmic management
The new rules ensure that a person performing platform work cannot be terminated or dismissed based on a decision made by an algorithm or automated decision-making system. Instead, digital work platforms must ensure human oversight of important decisions that directly affect the people performing platform work.
Transparency and data protection
The directive introduces rules that protect platform workers’ personal data in a better way. Digital work platforms must be prohibited from processing certain types of personal data, such as data about someone’s emotional or psychological state and personal beliefs.
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Rapporteur Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D, Italy), said: “With this directive, almost 40 million platform workers in the EU will have access to fair working conditions. This historic agreement will give them dignity, protection and rights. It will correct false self-employment and prevent unfair competition, protect genuine self-employment and introduce ground-breaking rules on algorithm management. This will become a benchmark on a global level. I am proud to say this: Europe protects its workers, its social model and its economy.”
Next step
The agreed text must now also be formally adopted by the Council. After publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, member states will have two years to incorporate the provisions into their national legislation.
Background
The European Commission’s analysis from 2021 showed that there are more than 500 active digital work platforms and that the sector employs more than 28 million people – a figure expected to increase to 43 million by 2025. Digital work platforms exist in a range of different economic sectors, either “on place”, for example drivers in ride-hailing and food delivery, or online with services such as data coding and translation.
While most platform workers are formally self-employed, around 5.5 million people may be wrongly classified as self-employed.
By adopting this legislation, the European Parliament responds to citizens’ expectations for inclusive labor markets and digital innovation to strengthen the social and sustainable economy, as expressed in proposals 13, 13(5) and 35(1)(3) of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe .
