Digital labour platforms create opportunities for businesses, workers and self-employed, as well as improved access to services for consumers. However, with these new forms of work, it becomes increasingly difficult to correctly classify the employment status of people, leading in some cases to inadequate labour rights and social protection.

The European Commission recently proposed a set of measures to ensure that people working through digital labour platforms are granted the legal employment status that corresponds to their actual work arrangements.

The proposed Directive seeks to provide a list of control criteria to determine whether a digital platform is an ‘employer’ and if so, the people working through it would enjoy the labour and social rights that come with the status of ‘workers’.

For those being reclassified as workers, this means the right to a minimum wage (where it exists), collective bargaining, working time and health protection, the right to paid leave or improved access to protection against work accidents, unemployment and sickness benefits, as well as contributory old-age pensions.

A common set of EU rules will provide increased legal certainty, therefore enabling digital labour platforms to benefit fully from the economic potential of the Single Market and a level playing field.