Against bogus self-employment: EU states support directive for delivery services
The EU Council has finally adopted new rules to improve conditions for over 28 million people working in the EU via online platforms.
So-called gig workers, like here at Uber Eats, are to be given more employee rights in the EU in future.
(Image: MOZCO Mateusz Szymanski/Shutterstock.com)
Around 28 million employees who find jobs via online platforms will receive more rights in Europe. The EU Council of Ministers finally approved a relevant draft directive in Brussels on Monday. The main aim of the new requirements is to ensure the correct classification of the employment status of people who perform platform work. Above all, this should help to combat bogus self-employment in this sector. In addition, regulations on algorithmic personnel management and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace are being introduced across the EU for the first time: The program routines used are to become more transparent. Automated systems must also be monitored by qualified personnel. Employees also have the right to challenge automated decisions.
Platform operators such as Bolt, Deliveroo, LiveOps, Lyft, Uber or Wolt are also no longer allowed to process certain types of personal data in relevant IT processes. This relates, for example, to information about an employee's emotional or mental state and personal beliefs, as well as communication with colleagues. Operators must also assess the impact of automated decision-making systems on the working conditions, health and fundamental rights of those working for them. Platforms will be prohibited from making certain important decisions automatically, such as dismissals or blocking accounts.
Drivers & co. are generally considered permanent employees
The EU bodies assume that the number of gig workers will increase from 28.3 million in 2022 to around 43 million by 2025. That would be an increase of 52 percent. At least 5.5 million platform workers are currently incorrectly classified as self-employed. They are thus missing out on important employment and social protection rights. The directive now introduces a presumption that a more or less permanent employment relationship exists if two out of five control or steering indicators are present. The member states can still expand this list on their own initiative. In order to rebut such an assessment, an operator must prove that the contractual relationship is not an employment relationship.
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The EU Parliament and the Council have revised the EU Commission's original proposal for a directive from the end of 2021 over the past few years. MEPs adopted the negotiated compromise back in April. With the approval of the ministerial committee, the legislative process is now complete. As soon as the directive has been published in the Official Journal of the EU, the member states will have two years to implement the provisions at national level. According to the Commission, the majority of platform work in the EU relates to transportation and delivery services, for example for food or groceries, which together account for 63%. Domestic services such as cleaning or handicraft work account for 19 percent. Microtasks such as object categorization ("tagging") for AI only account for two percent.
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