Platform work: new rules from the EU

Last Updated on November 18, 2024

It was 9 December 2021 when the European Commission put the proposal to strengthen the rights of platform workers on the table. After three years of intensive negotiations, 11 November 2024 saw publication of Directive 2024/2381 to improve working conditions and the protection of the personal data of platform workers.

To whom it applies

The measure applies to digital labour platforms defined as natural or legal persons providing a service which meets all the following requirements:

  • It is provided, at least in part, at a distance by electronic means (e.g., website or app);
  • It is provided at the request of a recipient of the service;
  • It involves, as necessary and essential component, the organisation of work performed by individuals in return for payment, irrespective of whether that work is performed online or in a certain location;
  • it involves the use of automated monitoring systems or automated decision-making systems.

Platforms that provide a service limited to the sharing of assets or the resale of goods, without further involvement of the platform in terms of organisation of work (e.g. rental of short-term accommodation) do not fall within the scope of the Directive.

Aims

The aim of the measure is to identify a regulation of technological and innovative types of work based on algorithms that, today, represent new opportunities for access to the world of work. In this sense, the Directive aims to:

  1. facilitate the correct determination of the employment status of platform workers;
  2. ensure that the algorithmic organisation of work is characterised by canons of transparency, fairness, human oversight, safety, and accountability;
  3. enable access to information on digital labour platforms by national authorities, also in order to carry out effective checks and inspections. 
Employment status

The Directive introduces a legal presumption of an employment relationship between the platform and the worker when certain factual elements are present that reveal the exercise of direction and control by the platform itself, according to the laws in force in member states.

This presumption must be:

– effective, in other words actually make it easy for the employee to benefit from it, also from a point of view of evidence;

– rebuttable, in other words the presumption can be rebutted if the platform proves that the contractual relationship is not an employment relationship;

– applicable to all administrative or judicial proceedings in which correct classification of the employment relationship is at stake, except for tax, criminal and social security matters, unless otherwise provided by the member states.

The presumption shall also apply to employment relationships existing on 2 December 2026 but only for the period after that date. 

2. Algorithmic Management

The focal point of the Directive is organisation of work by the platforms through the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems designed, respectively, to:

– monitor, supervise or evaluate the performance of platform workers (i.e. automated monitoring systems);

– take or support, by electronic means, decisions that significantly affect their working conditions such as, for example, recruitment, working time, earnings, suspension or termination of the account (i.e. automated decision-making systems). 

In order to protect providers, the following obligations have been introduced for platforms:

  • not to process, right from the selection or recruitment stage, biometric data or personal data including those relating to emotional or psychological state, private conversations, the exercise of fundamental rights (e.g. freedom of association, the right to take collective action), racial origin, political, religious or philosophical opinions, state of health, trade union membership, or sexual orientation;
  • to carry out an impact assessment of personal data processing by the automated systems;
  • to inform platform workers, workers’ representatives and, where appropriate, national competent authorities about automated systems in use or being implemented;
  • to identify specifically qualified personnel to be assigned to human oversight and impact assessment of the automated systems to be carried out at least every two years. These personnel shall be granted specific protection against dismissal or any other unfavourable treatment afforded in connection with the oversight activity. In any case, the decision, where necessary, to limit, suspend, or terminate the contractual relationship or account of the platform worker, must necessarily be made by a human being; 
  • to identify a contact person who shall provide workers with an explanation of the decisions made, so that they can be reviewed by the platform;
  • to assess the risk of automated systems for workers’ health and safety;
  • to carry out a procedure for informing and consulting the workers’ representatives or, failing that, the providers directly in the event of the introduction or modification of an automated system;
3. Transparency and protective measures

Platforms must provide the competent authorities with a series of information regarding their platform workers (e.g. number, applicable terms and conditions, average duration of activities, average income) as well as to intermediaries with whom they have a contractual relationship.

Measures are also envisaged to ensure the effective implementation of the rights provided for in the Directive, including:

  • prompt dispute resolution as well as the right to redress in the event of violation of the prerogatives recognised, even after the termination of the relationship;
  • establishment by the platform of dedicated and protected communication channels to enable providers to contact each other privately and safely;
  • the prohibition of any advierse treatment by the platform, also related to the exercise of workers’ recognised rights, including dismissal or contract termination;
  • the provision of effective, dissuasive and proportionate sanctions in the event of violations.

Finally, the measure promotes the role of social partners and collective bargaining

Next steps

Member States will have until 2 December 2026 to transpose these new provisions into their national laws.

Toffoletto De Luca Tamajo is at your disposal for any support or clarification you may need.

For further information: comunicazione@toffolettodeluca.it