The Council of the EU has taken a decisive step to enhance the conditions of platform workers, ensuring digital labourers receive employment or worker status that more closely reflects their working arrangements.
Background
Also known as “gig workers”, platform workers are those who offer services to third parties through online platforms which act as intermediaries matching their clients with individual workers. This includes anyone who finds work through digital platforms, such as delivery drivers for food delivery apps, taxi drivers and app-based freelancers.
It is anticipated that more than 40 million workers across the EU will be engaged in platform work by 2025. This Directive is intended to further the European Commission’s commitment to improving working conditions within this sector in order to support its expansion.
Adoption of the Directive
On 14 October 2024, the new Platform Work Directive was formally adopted, following approval of the final text on 17 September 2024. It is part of a broader initiative by the European Commission, launched on 9 December 2021, to improve conditions and support sustainable growth in digital labour platforms across the EU, regardless of their location or applicable law.
Changes under the Directive
There are several key implications of the new Directive:
- Establishing a presumption that anyone engaged via a platform is an employee unless the platform can demonstrate otherwise. If an individual is deemed to be an employee, they will benefit from any labour rights to which employees are entitled.
- Greater transparency and protection of data used by algorithms and AI in human resources management. There will be an obligation for platforms to provide information to workers about the types of personal data the platforms hold on the worker.
- Ensuring automated systems are monitored by qualified staff so that there is human monitoring of important decisions and appropriate checks and balances, such as when suspending a worker’s account or removing them from the platform.
- Giving workers and their representatives the right to dispute automated decisions.
Next steps
Both the Council and the European Parliament will now sign the Directive and, following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, it will come into force 20 days later. Member states will have two years to enact the provisions under their domestic law.
Following the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020, the Directive will not be directly incorporated into UK law. However, for any platforms based in the UK which operate in EU member states, compliance with the legislation will be required. The implementation of the Directive may also influence the UK government which has announced plans to clarify the distinction between the employed and the self-employed.
