Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on improving working conditions in platform work
Date: 2021-12-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, digital transformation, labour law, online platform worker, self-employed person, staff, working conditions

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 9.12.2021  COM(2021) 762 final 2021/0414 (COD)  Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on improving working conditions in platform work (Text with EEA relevance) {SEC(2021) 581 final} - {SWD(2021) 395 final} - {SWD(2021) 396 final} - {SWD(2021) 397 final}  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

One  of  the  objectives  of  the  Union  is  the  promotion  of  the  well-being  of  its  peoples  and 
sustainable  development  of  Europe  based  on  a  highly  competitive  social  market  economy, 
aiming  at  full  employment  and  social  progress.1  The  right  of  every  worker  to  working 
conditions  which  respect  their  health,  safety  and  dignity,  and  workers’  right  to  information 
and consultation are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. 
The  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights  states  that  “regardless  of  the  type  and  duration  of  the 
employment  relationship,  workers  have  the  right  to  fair  and  equal  treatment  regarding 
working conditions and access to social protection.”2 

In her political guidelines, President von der Leyen stressed that “digital transformation brings 
fast change that affects our labour markets” and undertook the commitment to “look at ways 
to improve the labour conditions of platform workers”.3 The proposed Directive delivers on 
this  commitment  and  supports  the  implementation  of  the  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights 
Action Plan, welcomed by Member States, social partners and civil society at the Porto Social 
Summit  in  May  2021,  by  addressing  the  changes  brought  by  the  digital  transformation  to 
labour markets.  

The digital transition, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is shaping the EU’s economy 
and  its  labour  markets.  Digital  labour  platforms4  have  become  an  important  element  of  this 
newly emerging social and economic landscape. They have continued expanding in size, with 
revenues in the digital labour platform economy in the EU estimated to have grown by around 
500% in  the last  five  years.5  Today,  over  28 million  people in  the  EU work through digital 
labour  platforms.  In  2025,  their  number  is  expected  to  have  reached  43  million.6  Digital 
labour  platforms  are  present  in  a  variety  of  economic  sectors.  Some  offer  services  “on-
location”,  such  as  ride-hailing,  delivery  of  goods,  cleaning  or  care  services.  Others  operate 
solely online with services such as data encoding, translation or design. Platform work varies 
in terms of level of skills required as well as the way the work is organised and controlled by 
the platforms.  

Digital  labour  platforms  promote  innovative  services  and  new  business  models  and  create 
many  opportunities  for  consumers  and  businesses.  They  can  efficiently  match  supply  and 
demand for labour and offer possibilities to make a living or earn additional income, including 
for people who face barriers in access to the labour market, such as young people, people with 
disabilities,  migrants,  people  with  minority  racial  and  ethnic  background    or  people  with 
caring  responsibilities.  Platform  work  creates  opportunities  to  establish  or  broaden  a  client 
base,  sometimes  across  borders.  It  brings  businesses  a  much  wider  access  to  consumers, 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 

6 

Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union. 
Principle 5 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. 
Political  Guidelines  for  the  Next  European  Commission  2019-2024.  ‘A  Union  that  Strives  for  More. 
My Agenda for Europe.’ Available online. 
As defined in this proposal for a directive. 
De  Groen  W.,  Kilhoffer  Z.,  Westhoff  L.,  Postica  D.  and  Shamsfakhr  F.  (2021).  Digital  Labour 
Platforms in the EU: Mapping and Business Models. Available online. 
PPMI  (2021),  Study  to  support  the  impact  assessment  of  an  EU  initiative  on  improving  working 
conditions in platform work. Available online. 

EN 

1 

  EN 

                                                 
opportunities to diversify revenues and develop  new business lines, thereby  helping them to 
grow.  For  consumers  it  means  improved  access  to  products  and  services  which  would  be 
otherwise hard to reach, as well as access to a new and more varied choice of services. Still, 
as digital labour platforms introduce new forms of work organisation, they challenge existing 
rights and obligations related to labour law and social protection.  

Nine out of ten platforms active in the EU currently are estimated to classify people working 
through  them  as  self-employed.7  Most  of  those  people  are  genuinely  autonomous  in  their 
work  and  can  use  platform  work  as  a  way  to  develop  their  entrepreneurial  activities.8  Such 
genuine  self-employment  is  making  a  positive  contribution  to  job  creation,  business 
development, innovation, accessibility of services, and digitalisation in the EU. 

through  digital 

However, there are also many people who experience subordination to and varying degrees of 
control by the digital labour platforms they operate through, for instance as regards pay levels 
or  working  conditions.  According  to  one  estimate,  up  to  five  and  a  half  million  people 
working 
labour  platforms  could  be  at  risk  of  employment  status 
misclassification.9  Those people are especially likely to  experience  poor  working conditions 
and inadequate access to social protection.10 As a result of the misclassification, they cannot 
enjoy the rights and protections to which they are entitled as workers. These rights include the 
right  to  a  minimum  wage,  working  time  regulations,  occupational  safety  and  health 
protection,  equal  pay  between  men  and  women  and  the  right  to  paid  leave,  as  well  as 
improved access to social protection against work accidents, unemployment, sickness and old 
age.  

Digital labour platforms use automated systems to match supply and demand for work. Albeit 
in  different  ways,  digital  platforms  use  them  to  assign  tasks,  to  monitor,  evaluate  and  take 
decisions  for  the  people  working  through  them.  Such  practices  are  often  referred  to  as 
“algorithmic management”. While algorithmic management is  used  in  a  growing number of 
ways  in  the  wider  labour  market,  it  is  clearly  inherent  to  digital  labour  platforms’  business 
model. It creates efficiencies in the matching of supply and demand but has also a significant 
impact on working conditions  in platform work.  Algorithmic management also conceals the 
existence  of  subordination  and  control  by  the  digital  labour  platform  on  the  persons 
performing  the  work.  The  potential  for  gender  bias  and  discrimination  in  algorithmic 
management could also amplify gender inequalities. Understanding how algorithms influence 
or determine certain decisions (such as the access to future task opportunities or bonuses, the 
imposition  of  sanctions  or  the  possible  suspension  or  restriction  of  accounts)  is  paramount, 
given  the  implications  for  the  income  and  working  conditions  of  people  working  through 
digital labour platforms. Currently, however, there is insufficient transparency regarding such 
automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  and  people  lack  efficient  access  to 
remedies  in  the  face  of  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  such  systems.  Algorithmic 
management  is  a  relatively  new  and  –  apart  from  EU  data  protection  rules  –  largely 
unregulated phenomenon in the platform economy that poses challenges to both workers and 
the self-employed working through digital labour platforms.  

Difficulties  in  enforcement  and  lack  of  traceability  and  transparency,  including  in  cross-
border situations, are also thought to exacerbate some instances of poor working conditions or 

7 
8 
9 
10 

De Groen W., et al. (2021). 
PPMI (2021). 
Ibid. 
See accompanying impact assessment, Section 2.1. SWD(2021) 396. 

EN 

2 

  EN 

                                                 
inadequate  access  to  social  protection.  National  authorities  do  not  always  have  sufficient 
access  to  data  on  digital  labour  platforms  and  people  working  through  them,  such  as  the 
number  of  persons  performing  platform  work  on  a  regular  basis,  their  contractual  or 
employment  status,  or  digital  labour  platforms’  terms  and  conditions.  The  problem  of 
traceability  is  especially  relevant  when  platforms  operate  across  borders,  making  it  unclear 
where platform work is performed and by whom. This, in turn, makes it difficult for national 
authorities to enforce existing obligations, including in terms of social security contributions. 

The  general  objective  of  the  proposed  Directive  is  to  improve  the  working  conditions  and 
social  rights  of  people  working  through  platforms,  including  with  the  view  to  support  the 
conditions for the sustainable growth of digital labour platforms in the European Union. 

The specific objectives through which the general objective will be addressed are: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

to ensure that people working through platforms have  – or can obtain – the correct 
employment status in light of their actual relationship with the digital labour platform 
and gain access to the applicable labour and social protection rights; 

to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability in algorithmic management in the 
platform work context; and 

to  enhance  transparency,  traceability  and  awareness  of  developments  in  platform 
work and improve enforcement of the applicable rules for all people working through 
platforms, including those operating across borders. 

The  first  specific  objective  will  be  attained  by  establishing  a  comprehensive  framework  to 
tackle  employment  status  misclassification  in  platform  work.  This  framework  includes 
appropriate  procedures  to  ensure  correct  determination  of  the  employment  status  of  people 
performing  platform  work,  in  line  with  the  principle  of  primacy  of  facts,  as  well  as  a 
rebuttable  presumption  of  employment  relationship  (including  a  reversal  of  the  burden  of 
proof)  for persons working  through digital  labour platforms that control  certain elements  of 
the performance of work. This legal presumption would apply in all legal and administrative 
proceedings, including those launched by national authorities competent for enforcing labour 
and  social  protection  rules,  and  can  be  rebutted  by  proving  that  there  is  no  employment 
relationship by reference to national definitions. This framework is  expected to benefit both 
the false and the genuine self-employed working through digital labour platforms. Those who, 
as a result of correct determination of their employment status, will be recognised as workers 
will  enjoy  improved  working  conditions  –  including  health  and  safety,  employment 
protection,  statutory  or  collectively  bargained  minimum  wages  and  access  to  training 
opportunities –  and gain  access  to  social protection according to  national  rules.  Conversely, 
genuine  self-employed  people  working  through  platforms  will  indirectly  benefit  from  more 
autonomy and independence, as a result of digital labour platforms adapting their practices to 
avoid any risk of reclassification. Digital labour platforms will also gain from increased legal 
certainty, including with respect to potential court challenges. Other businesses that compete 
with digital labour platforms by operating in the same sector will benefit from a level playing 
field as regards the cost of social protection contributions. Member States will enjoy increased 
revenues in the form of additional tax and social protection contributions. 

The  proposed  Directive  aims  at  attaining  the  second  specific  objective  of  ensuring  fairness, 
transparency  and  accountability  in  algorithmic  management  by  introducing  new  material 
rights for people performing platform work. These include the right to transparency regarding 
the  use  and  functioning  of  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems,  which 
specifies and complements existing rights  in  relation  to  the protection of personal  data. The 

EN 

3 

  EN 

proposed Directive also aims at ensuring human monitoring of the impact of such automated 
systems on working conditions with a view to safeguarding basic workers’ rights and health 
and  safety  at  work.  To  ensure  fairness  and  accountability  of  significant  decisions  taken  or 
supported  by  automated  systems,  the  proposed  Directive  also  includes  establishing 
appropriate  channels  for  discussing  and  requesting  review  of  such  decisions.  With  certain 
exceptions,  these  provisions  apply  to  all  people  working  through  platforms,  including  the 
genuine  self-employed.  As  regards  workers,  the  proposed  Directive  also  aims  at  fostering 
social dialogue on algorithmic management systems by introducing collective rights regarding 
information  and  consultation  on  substantial  changes  related  to  use  of  automated  monitoring 
and  decision-making  systems.  As  a  result,  all  people  working  through  platforms  and  their 
representatives will enjoy better transparency and understanding of algorithmic management 
practices as well as more effective access to remedies against automated decisions, leading to 
improved  working  conditions.  These  rights  will  build  on  and  extend  existing  safeguards  in 
respect of processing of personal data by automated decision-making systems laid down in the 
General Data Protection Regulation as well as proposed obligations for providers and users of 
artificial intelligence (AI) systems in terms of transparency and human oversight of certain AI 
systems in the proposal for an AI Act (see more details below). 

Finally,  concrete  measures  are  proposed  to  achieve  the  third  objective  of  enhancing 
transparency  and  traceability  of  platform  work  with  a  view  to  supporting  competent 
authorities in enforcing existing rights and obligations in relation to working conditions and 
social protection. This includes clarifying the obligation for digital labour platforms which are 
employers to declare platform work to the competent authorities of the Member State where it 
is  performed.  The  proposed  Directive  will  also  improve  labour  and  social  protection 
authorities’ knowledge of which digital labour platforms are active in their Member State by 
giving those authorities access to relevant basic information on the number of people working 
through  digital  labour  platforms,  their  employment  status  and  their  standard  terms  and 
conditions.  These  measures  will  help  those  authorities  in  ensuring  compliance  with  labour 
rights and in collecting social security contributions, and thus improve working conditions of 
people performing platform work.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

In order to prevent a race to the bottom in employment practices and social standards to the 
detriment  of  workers,  the  EU  has  created  a  minimum  floor  of  labour  rights  that  apply  to 
workers across all Member States. The EU labour and social acquis sets minimum standards 
through a number of key instruments.  

Only  workers  who  fall  under  the  personal  scope  of  such  legal  instruments  benefit  from  the 
protection  they  afford.11  Self-employed  people,  including  those  working  through  platforms, 
fall  outside  the  scope  and  typically  do  not  enjoy  these  rights,  making  the  worker  status  a 
gateway  to  the  EU  labour  and  social  acquis.  (The  only  exception  are  the  equal  treatment 
directives which also cover access to self-employment12, due to broader legal bases.) 

Relevant legal instruments for employed people working through platforms include:  

11 

12 

Some  instruments  define  the  personal  scope  by  reference  to  national  definitions  of  ‘worker’  or 
‘employee’ while others do not include such reference. The CJEU has developed comprehensive case-
law defining the personal scope of those instruments 
Directives 2000/43, 2000/78, 2006/54 and 2010/41. 

EN 

4 

  EN 

                                                 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

13 
14 
15 
16 
17 

18 
19 

The Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions13 provides for 
measures  to  protect  working  conditions  of  people  who  work  in  non-standard  work 
relationships.  This  includes  rules  on  transparency,  the  right  to  information, 
probationary  periods,  parallel  employment,  minimum  predictability  of  work  and 
measures  for  on-demand  contracts.  These  minimum  standards  are  particularly 
their  atypical  work 
relevant  for  people  working 
organisation  and  patterns.  However,  while  the  Directive  ensures  transparency  on 
basic working conditions, the information duty on employers does not extend to the 
use of algorithms in the workplace and how they affect individual workers.  

through  platforms,  given 

The Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers14 lays down minimum 
requirements  related  to  parental,  paternity  and  carers’  leave  and  flexible  work 
arrangements  for  parents  or  carers.  It  complements  the  Directive  on  safety  and 
health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth 
or  are  breastfeeding15,  which  provides  for  a  minimum  period  of  maternity  leave, 
alongside other measures. 
The  Working  Time  Directive16  lays  down  minimum  requirements  for  the 
organisation of working time and defines concepts such as ‘working time’ and ‘rest 
periods’. While the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has traditionally 
interpreted  the  concept  of  ‘working  time’  as  requiring  the  worker  to  be  physically 
present at a place determined by the employer, in recent cases the Court has extended 
this  concept  in  particular  when  a  ‘stand-by’  time  system  is  in  place  (i.e.  where  a 
worker  is  not  required  to  remain  at  their  workplace  but  shall  remain  available  to 
work if called by the employer). In 2018, the Court made clear that ‘stand-by’ time, 
during which the worker's opportunities to carry out other activities are significantly 
restricted, shall be regarded as working time.17  
The Directive on temporary agency work18 defines a general framework applicable 
to the working conditions of temporary agency workers. It lays down the principle of 
non-discrimination,  regarding  the  essential  conditions  of  work  and  of  employment, 
between  temporary  agency  workers  and  workers  who  are  recruited  by  the  user 
company.  Due  to  the  typically  triangular  contractual  relationship  of  platform  work, 
this  Directive  can  be  of  relevance  for  platform  work.  Depending  on  the  business 
model  of  a  digital  labour  platform  and  on  whether  its  customers  are  private 
consumers or businesses, it might qualify as a temporary-work agency assigning its 
workers to user companies. In some cases, the platform might be the user company 
making use of the services of workers assigned by temporary-work agencies.  
The  Occupational  Health  and  Safety  (OSH)  Framework  Directive19  lays  down 
the main principles for encouraging improvements in the health and safety at work. It 
guarantees  minimum  safety  and  health  requirements  throughout  the  EU.  The 

Directive (EU) 2019/1152. Member States have until 1 August 2022 to transpose it. 
Directive (EU) 2019/1158. 
Directive 92/85/EEC. 
Directive 2003/88/EC. 
Judgment  of  the  Court  of  21  February  2018  in  Ville  de  Nivelles  v  Rudy  Matzak, C-518/15,  ECLI: 
EU:C:2018:82; confirmed and elaborated in  the  judgments of 9 March 2021 in RJ v Stadt Offenbach 
am Main, C-580/19, ECLI:EU:C:2021:183; and 9 March 2021 in -D.J. v Radiotelevizija Slovenija, C-
344/19, ECLI:EU:C:2021:182. 
Directive 2008/104/EC. 
Directive 89/391/EEC. 

EN 

5 

  EN 

                                                 
– 

– 

– 

Framework  Directive  is  accompanied  by  further  directives  focusing  on  specific 
aspects of safety and health at work. 

The  Directive  establishing  a  general  framework  for  informing  and  consulting 
employees20  plays  a  key  role  in  promoting  social  dialogue  by  setting  minimum 
principles, definitions and arrangements for information and consultation of workers’ 
representatives at the company level within each Member State. 
When  adopted,  the  proposed  Directive  on  adequate  minimum  wages21  will 
establish a framework to improve the adequacy of minimum wages and to increase 
the access of workers to minimum wage protection.  
When  adopted,  the  proposed  Directive  on  pay  transparency22  will  strengthen  the 
application  of  the  principle  of  equal  pay  for  equal  work  or  work  of  equal  value 
between men and women. 

In  addition,  regulations  on  the  coordination  of  national  social  security  systems  apply  to 
both  employed  and  self-employed  people  working  through  platforms  in  a  cross-border 
situation23.  

Finally, the Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the 
self-employed24  recommends  Member  States  to  ensure  that  both  workers  and  the  self-
employed  have  access  to  effective  and  adequate  social  protection.  The  Recommendation 
covers  unemployment,  sickness  and  health  care,  maternity  and  paternity,  invalidity,  old-age 
and survivors’ benefits and benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

Existing  and  proposed  EU  internal  market  and  data  protection  instruments  are  relevant  for 
digital  labour  platforms’  operations  and  the  people  working  through  them.  Still,  not  all 
identified challenges in  platform work are sufficiently addressed by those legal instruments. 
While  they  tackle  algorithmic  management  in  certain  respects,  they  do  not  specifically 
address the perspective of workers, labour market specificities and collective labour rights. 

Relevant EU internal market and data protection instruments include: 

– 

20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 

The Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online 
intermediation  services  (or  ‘Platform-to-Business  Regulation’)25  aims  at  ensuring 
that  self-employed  ‘business  users’  of  an  online  platform’s  intermediation  services 
are treated in a transparent and fair way and that they have access to effective redress 
in  the  event  of  disputes.  The  relevant  provisions  focus,  among  others,  on 
transparency  of  terms  and  conditions  for  business  users,  procedural  safeguards  in 
case  of  the  restriction,  suspension  and  termination  of  accounts,  transparency 
regarding  ranking,  and  complaint-handling  mechanisms.  These  are  linked  to 
algorithmic management, but the Regulation does not cover other key aspects, such 
as  transparency  of  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  (other  than 

Directive 2002/14/EC. 
COM(2020) 682 final. 
COM(2021) 93 final. 
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of 29 May 2004 and its implementing Regulation (EC) No 987/2009.  
Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 (2019/C 387/01). 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1150. 

EN 

6 

  EN 

 
                                                 
– 

– 

ranking), human monitoring of such systems and specific rights regarding the review 
of significant decisions affecting working conditions. The Regulation does not apply 
to  persons  in  an  employment  relationship  or  to  digital  labour  platforms  that  are 
considered, as a result of an overall assessment, as not providing ‘information society 
services’, but for instance a transport service. 
The  General  Data  Protection  Regulation  (GDPR)26  lays  down  rules  for  the 
protection  of  natural  persons  concerning  the  processing  of  their  personal  data.  It 
grants  people  working  through  platforms  a  range  of  rights  regarding  their  personal 
data,  regardless  of  their  employment  status.  Such  rights  include,  in  particular,  the 
right  not  to  be  subject  to  a  decision  based  solely  on  automated  processing  which 
produces  legal  effects  concerning  the  data  subject  or  similarly  significantly  affects 
them  (with  certain  exceptions),  as  well  as  the  right  to  transparency  on  the  use    of 
automated  decision-making.  Where  automated  processing  is  permitted  under  the 
exceptions,  the  data  controller  must  implement  suitable  measures  to  safeguard  the 
data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, at least the right to obtain 
human intervention on the part of the controller, to express their point of view and to 
contest the decision. While these rights are particularly relevant for people working 
through  platforms  subject  to  algorithmic  management,  recent  court  cases  have 
highlighted the limitations and difficulties that  workers  – and most notably persons 
performing platform work – face when aiming to assert their data protection rights in 
the context of algorithmic management.27 This concerns in particular the difficulty to 
draw  the  line  between  algorithmic  decisions  that  do  or  do  not  affect  workers  in  a 
sufficiently ‘significant’ way. Moreover, while the GDPR grants individual rights to 
the  people  affected,  it  does  not  encompass  important  collective  aspects  inherent  in 
labour  law,  including  those  related  to  the  role  of  workers’  representatives, 
information  and  consultation  of  workers  and  the  role  of  labour  inspectorates  in 
enforcing labour rights. The legislator therefore provided for the possibility of more 
specific rules to ensure the protection of workers’ personal data in the employment 
context, including as regards the organisation of work (Article 88 GDPR).  
When adopted, the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act28 will address risks linked to 
the use of  certain  artificial  intelligence (AI) systems.  The proposed  AI Act aims to 
ensure that AI systems placed on the market and used in the EU are safe and respect 
fundamental rights, such as the principle of equal treatment. It tackles issues related 
to  development,  deployment,  use  and  regulatory  oversight  of  AI  systems  and 
addresses  inherent  challenges  such  as  bias  (including  gender  bias)  and  lack  of 
accountability, including by setting requirements for high-quality datasets, helping to 
tackle the risk of discrimination. The proposed AI regulation lists AI systems used in 
employment,  worker  management  and  access  to  self-employment  that  are  to  be 
considered  as  high-risk.  It  puts  forward  mandatory  requirements  that  high-risk  AI 
systems  must  comply  with,  as  well  as  obligations  for  providers  and  users  of  such 
systems.  The  proposed  AI  Act  provides  specific  requirements  on  transparency  for 
certain AI systems, and will ensure that digital labour platforms, as users of high-risk 
AI  systems,  will  have  access  to  the  information  they  need  to  use  the  system  in  a 
lawful and responsible manner. Where digital labour platforms are providers of high 

26 
27 

28 

Regulation (EU) 2016/679. 
ECE,  Jurisprudence  of  national  courts  in  Europe  on  algorithmic  management  at  the  workplace 
(forthcoming). 
COM(2021) 206 final. 

EN 

7 

  EN 

                                                 
risk  AI  systems,  they  will  need  to  test  and  document  their  systems  appropriately. 
Furthermore,  the  proposal  for  an  AI  Act  imposes  requirements  on  providers  of  AI 
systems  to  enable  human  oversight  and  to  issue  instructions  in  this  regard.  By 
ensuring  transparency  and  traceability  of  high-risk  AI  systems,  the  AI  Act  aims  to 
facilitate  the  implementation  of  existing  rules  on  the  protection  of  fundamental 
rights,  whenever  such  AI  systems  are  in  use.  Nonetheless,  it  does  not  take  into 
account the diversity of rules on working conditions in different Member States and 
sectors,  and  it  does  not  provide  safeguards  in  relation  to  the  respect  of  working 
conditions  for  the  people  directly  affected  by  the  use  of  the  AI  systems,  such  as 
workers. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  proposed  Directive  is  based  on  Article  153(1)(b)  of  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European  Union  (TFEU),  which  empowers  the  Union  to  support  and  complement  the 
activities of the Member States with the objective to improve working conditions. In this area, 
Article  153(2)(b)  TFEU  enables  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  adopt  –  in 
accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure – directives setting minimum requirements 
for gradual implementation, having regard to the conditions and technical rules obtaining in 
each of the Member States. Such directives must avoid imposing administrative, financial and 
legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and 
medium-sized undertakings. 

This legal basis allows the Union to set minimum standards regarding the working conditions 
of people performing platform work where they are in an employment relationship and thus 
classified as ‘workers’. The CJEU has ruled that the classification of a ‘self-employed person’ 
under  national  law  does  not  prevent  that  person  being  classified  as  a  worker  within  the 
meaning  of  EU  law  if  their  independence  is  merely  notional,  thereby  disguising  an 
employment  relationship.29  False  self-employed  people  are  thus  also  covered  by  EU  labour 
legislation based on Article 153 TFEU.  

The  proposed  Directive  is  also  based  on  Article  16(2)  TFEU  insofar  as  it  addresses  the 
situation of persons performing platform work  in  relation  to  the  protection of their personal 
data  processed  by  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems.  This  Article 
empowers  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  lay  down  rules  relating  to  the 
protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

Flexibility  and  constant  adaptation  of  business  models  are  key  features  of  the  platform 
economy,  whose  primary  means  of  production  are  algorithms,  data  and  clouds.  As  they  are 
not tied to any fixed assets and premises, digital labour platforms can easily move and operate 
across  borders,  swiftly  starting  operations  in  certain  markets,  sometimes  closing  down  for 
business or regulatory reasons and re-opening in another country with laxer rules.  

While Member States operate in one single market, they have taken different approaches on 
whether  or  not  to  regulate  platform  work,  and  in  what  direction.  More  than  100  court 
decisions  and  15  administrative  decisions  dealing  with  the  employment  status  of  people 

29 

CJEU, cases C-256/01, Allonby, and C-413/13, FNV Kunsten Informatie en Media.  

EN 

8 

  EN 

                                                 
working through platforms have been observed in the Member States, with varying outcomes 
but predominantly in favour of reclassifying people working through platforms as workers.30 
In addition to the legal  uncertainty this entails for the digital labour platforms and for those 
working through them, the high number of court cases points to difficulties in maintaining a 
level  playing  field  among  Member  States  as  well  as  between  digital  labour  platforms  and 
other  businesses,  and  in  avoiding  downward  pressure  on  labour  standards  and  working 
conditions. Certain digital labour platforms may engage in unfair commercial practices with 
respect to other businesses, for example, by not complying with the same rules and operating 
under  the  same  conditions.  Consequently,  EU  action  is  needed  to  ensure  that  the  highly 
mobile  and  fast-moving  platform  economy  develops  alongside  the  labour  rights  of  people 
working through platforms.  

Digital labour platforms are often based in one country, while operating through people based 
elsewhere. 59% of all people working through platforms in the EU engage with clients based 
in  another  country.31  This  adds  complexity  to  contractual  relationships.  The  working 
conditions and social protection coverage of people performing cross-border platform work is 
equally uncertain and depends strongly on their employment status. National authorities (such 
as labour inspectorates, social protection institutions and tax authorities) are often not aware 
of which  digital  labour  platforms are  active in  their country, how many  people are working 
through  them  and  under  what  employment  status  the  work  is  performed.  Risks  of  non-
compliance  with  rules  and  obstacles  to  tackling  undeclared  work  are  higher  in  cross-border 
situations,  in  particular  when  online  platform  work  is  concerned.  In  this  context,  relevant 
actions aimed at tackling the cross-border challenges of platform work, including notably the 
lack of data to allow for a better enforcement of rules, are best taken at EU level.  

National action alone would not achieve the EU’s Treaty-based core objectives of promoting 
sustainable  economic  growth  and  social  progress,  as  Member  States  may  hesitate  to  adopt 
more stringent rules or to strictly enforce existing labour standards, while they compete with 
one another to attract digital labour platforms’ investments.  

Only an EU initiative can set common rules that apply to all digital labour platforms operating 
in the EU, while also preventing fragmentation in the fast-developing single market for digital 
labour  platforms.  This  would  ensure  a  level  playing  field  in  the  area  of  working  conditions 
and algorithmic management between digital labour platforms operating in different Member 
States. Hence, the specific EU added value lies in the establishment of minimum standards in 
these areas which will foster upward convergence in employment and social outcomes across 
the Union, and facilitate the development of the platform economy across the EU. 

• 

Proportionality 

The  proposed  Directive  provides  for  minimum  standards,  thus  ensuring  that  the  degree  of 
intervention  will  be  kept  to  the  minimum  necessary  in  order  to  reach  the  objectives  of  the 
proposal. Member States which have already more favourable provisions in place than those 
put forward in the proposed Directive will not have to change or lower them. Member States 
may also decide to go beyond the minimum standards set out in the proposed Directive. 

The principle of proportionality is respected considering the size and nature of the identified 
problems.  For  instance,  the  rebuttable  presumption  proposed  to  address  the  problem  of 

30 

31 

ECE, Case Law on the Classification of Platform Workers: Cross-European Comparative Analysis and 
Tentative Conclusions (2021). Available online. 
PPMI (2021), section 7.1.  

EN 

9 

  EN 

                                                 
misclassification  of  the  employment  status  will  only  apply  to  digital  labour  platforms  that 
exert a certain level of control over the performance of work. Other digital labour platforms 
will  thus  not  be  concerned  by  the  presumption.  Similarly  the  provisions  on  automated 
monitoring and decision-making systems do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the 
objectives of fairness, transparency and accountability in algorithmic management. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

ARTICLE  153(2)(B)  TFEU  IN  COMBINATION  WITH  153(1)(B)  TFEU  PROVIDES  EXPLICITLY 
THAT  DIRECTIVES  MAY  BE  USED  FOR  ESTABLISHING  MINIMUM  REQUIREMENTS 
CONCERNING  WORKING  CONDITIONS  TO  BE  IMPLEMENTED  BY  MEMBER  STATES. 
RULES BASED ON ARTICLE 16(2) TFEU MAY ALSO BE LAID DOWN IN DIRECTIVES.3.
RESULTS  OF  STAKEHOLDER  CONSULTATIONS  AND  IMPACT 

ASSESSMENTS 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

In line with  Article 154  TFEU, the Commission  has carried out  a two-stage consultation  of 
the social partners on possible EU action to improve working conditions in platform work. In 
the  first  stage,  between  24  February  and  7  April  2021,  the  Commission  consulted  social 
partners  on  the  need  for  an  initiative  on  platform  work,  and  its  possible  direction.32  In  the 
second  stage,  between  15  June  and  15  September  2021,  the  Commission  consulted  social 
partners on the content and legal instrument of the envisaged proposal.33 

Both  trade  unions  and  employers’  organisations  agreed  with  the  overall  challenges  as 
identified  in  the  second-stage  consultation  document,  but  differed  on  the  need  for  concrete 
action at EU level.  

Trade unions called for a Directive based on Article 153(2) TFEU providing for the rebuttable 
presumption of an employment relationship with reversed burden of proof and a set of criteria 
to verify the status. They maintained that such an instrument should apply both to online and 
on-location platforms.  Trade unions  also  supported the introduction of new rights  related to 
the algorithmic management in the employment domain, and generally opposed a third status 
for people working through platforms. They highlighted the need for social dialogue. 

Employers’ organisations agreed that there are issues that should be tackled, such as regarding 
working  conditions,  misclassification  of  employment  status  or  access  to  information. 
However,  action  should  be  taken  at  national  level,  on  a  case-by-case  basis  and  within  the 
framework  of  the  different  national  social  and  industrial  relations  systems.  Regarding 
the  focus  should  be  on  efficient 
they  highlighted 
algorithmic  management, 
implementation and enforcement of existing and upcoming legal instruments. 

that 

There  was  no  agreement  among  social  partners  to  enter  into  negotiations  to  conclude  an 
agreement at Union level, as foreseen in Article 155 TFEU. 

In addition, the Commission held a substantial number of exchanges with many stakeholders 
to inform this initiative, including dedicated and bilateral meetings with platform companies, 
platform  workers’  associations,  trade  unions,  Member  States’  representatives,  experts  from 

32 
33 

Consultation Document, C(2020) 1127 final. 
Consultation  Document,  C(2020)  4230  final,  accompanied  by  Staff  Working  Document  SWD(2021) 
143 final. 

EN 

10 

  EN 

 
                                                 
academia and international organisations and representatives of civil society.34  On 20 and 21 
September  2021,  the  Commission  held  two  dedicated  meetings  with  platform  operators  and 
representatives  of  platform  workers  to  hear  their  views  on  the  possible  directions  for  EU 
action. 

The  European  Parliament  has  called35  for  a  strong  EU  action  to  address  employment  status 
misclassification, and improve transparency in the use of algorithms, including for workers’ 
representatives.  The  Council  of  Ministers  of  the  EU36,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee37  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions38  have  also  called  for  specific  action  on 
platform work. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

The  Commission  contracted  external  experts  to  produce  several  studies  gathering  relevant 
evidence, which was used to support the impact assessment and prepare this proposal: 

– 

– 

– 

“Study  to  support  the  impact  assessment  of  an  EU  Initiative  on  improving  the 
working conditions in platform work” (2021) by PPMI.39 

“Digital  Labour  Platforms  in  the  EU:  Mapping  and  Business  Models”  (2021)  by 
CEPS.40 

“Study to gather evidence on the working conditions of platform workers” (2019) by 
CEPS.41 

The  Commission  also  based  its  assessment  on  the  reviews  by  the  European  Centre  of 
Expertise in the field of labour law, employment and labour market policies (ECE).  

– 

– 

– 

34 
35 

36 

37 

38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 

“Thematic Review 2021 on Platform work” (2021) based on country articles for the 
27 EU Member States.42  

“Case Law on the Classification of Platform Workers: Cross-European Comparative 
Analysis and Tentative Conclusions” (2021).43 

“Jurisprudence  of  national  Courts  in  Europe  on  algorithmic  management  at  the 
workplace” (2021).44 

See Annex A.3.1 of the Impact Assessment, SWD(2021) 396. 
European  Parliament  report  on  “fair  working  conditions,  rights  and  social  protection  for  platform 
workers  –  new  forms  of  employment  linked  to  digital  development.”  (2019/2186(INI)).  Available 
online. 
Council  Conclusions  “The  Future  of  Work:  the  European  Union  promoting  the  ILO  Centenary 
Declaration”,  October  2019;  Available  online.  In  December  2020,  EU  employment  and  social  affairs 
ministers  held  a  debate  on  platform  work  where  they  acknowledged  that  platform  work  is  an 
international phenomenon with a strong cross-border dimension, and that therefore there is a role for the 
EU to address the related challenges. 
EESC opinion: Fair work in the platform economy (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German 
presidency). Available online. 
CoR opinion: Platform work – local and regional regulatory challenges. Available online. 
Available online. 
Available online. 
Available online. 
Synthesis available online. 
Available online. 
Forthcoming. 

EN 

11 

  EN 

                                                 
The Commission additionally drew on external expertise and used the following studies and 
reports to support the impact assessment: 

– 

– 

– 

Eurofound  reports:  “Employment  and  Working  Conditions  of  Selected  Types  of 
Platform Work” (2018).45 

JRC reports:  “Platform  Workers in  Europe  Evidence from the COLLEEM Survey” 
(2018),46  and  “New  evidence  on  platform  workers  in  Europe.  Results  from  the 
second COLLEEM survey” (2020).47 

ILO report: “The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work” 
(2021).48 

Moreover, the Commission’s assessment has also relied on its mapping of policies in Member 
States, relevant academic literature and CJEU case-law. 

Impact assessment 

• 
The  Impact  Assessment49  was  discussed  with  the  Regulatory  Scrutiny  Board  (RSB)  on 
27 October  2021.  The  RSB  issued  a  positive  opinion  with  comments,  which  have  been 
addressed by further clarifying the coherence with linked initiatives, explaining why and how 
the  issues  related  to  algorithmic  management  are  particularly  relevant  for  the  platform 
economy  and  better  reflecting  the  views  of  different  categories  of  stakeholders,  including 
digital labour platforms and people working through them. The combination of measures put 
forward  in  this  proposal  was  assessed  in  the  Impact  Assessment  as  the  most  effective, 
efficient and coherent. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the preferred combination 
of  measures  shows  that  a  substantial  improvement  in  the  working  conditions  and  access  to 
social protection for people working through platforms is expected. Digital labour platforms 
will also benefit from increased legal certainty and conditions for a sustainable growth, in line 
with  the  EU’s  social  model.  As  a  spillover  effect,  other  businesses  competing  with  digital 
labour platforms will benefit from a newly levelled playing field.  

As  a  result  of  actions  to  address  the  risk  of  misclassification,  between  1.72  million  and  4.1 
million people are expected to be reclassified as workers (circa 2.35 million on-location and 
1.75 million online considering the higher estimation figures). This would grant them access 
to the rights and protections of the national and EU labour acquis. People who currently earn 
below the minimum wage would enjoy increased annual earnings of up to EUR 484 million, 
as statutory laws and/or industry-wide collective agreements would cover them as well. This 
means  an  average  annual  increase  in  EUR  121  per  worker,  ranging  from  EUR  0  for  those 
already  earning  above  the  minimum  wage  before  reclassification  to  EUR  1 800  for  those 
earning  below  it.  In-work  poverty  and  precariousness  would  thus  decrease  as  a  result  of 
reclassification and the resulting improved access to social protection. Hence, income stability 
and  predictability  would  improve.  Up  to  3.8  million  people  would  receive  confirmation  of 
their  self-employment  status  and,  as  a  result  of  actions  by  platforms  aimed  at  relinquishing 
control  to  avoid  reclassification  as  employers,  they  would  enjoy  more  autonomy  and 
flexibility.  New  rights  related  to  algorithmic  management  in  platform  work  may  lead  to 

45 
46 
47 
48 
49 

Available online. 
Available online. 
Available online. 
Available online. 
SWD(2021) 396. 

EN 

12 

  EN 

                                                 
improved  working  conditions  for  over  28  million  people  (both  workers  and  self-employed) 
and  greater  transparency  in  the  use  of  artificial  intelligence  (AI)  at  the  workplace,  with 
positive  spill-over  effects  for  the  wider  market  of  AI  systems.  The  initiative  would  also 
improve transparency and traceability of platform work, including in cross-border situations, 
with positive effects for national authorities in terms of better enforcement of existing labour 
and fiscal rules, as well as improved collection of tax and social protection contributions. To 
this  end,  Member  States  could  benefit  from  up  to  EUR 4 billion in  increased  tax  and  social 
protection contributions per year.  

Actions to address the risk of misclassification could result in up to EUR 4.5 billion increase 
in costs per year for digital labour platforms. Businesses relying on them and consumers may 
be faced  with  part of these costs, depending on  how  digital  labour  platforms decide to  pass 
them  onto  third  parties.  New  rights  related  to  algorithmic  management  and  the  foreseen 
measures to improve enforcement, transparency and traceability imply negligible to low costs 
for  digital  labour  platforms.  The  initiative  may  negatively  affect  the  flexibility  enjoyed  by 
people working through platforms. However, such flexibility, especially in terms of arranging 
work schedules, may be only apparent already now, since actual working times depend on the 
real-time  demand  for  services,  supply  of  workers,  and  other  factors.  It  was  not  possible  to 
meaningfully quantify what this would entail in terms of change in full-time equivalents and 
potential  job  losses,  given  the  very  high  number  of  variables  such  calculation  would  entail 
(e.g.  evolving  national  regulatory  landscapes,  shifts  in  platforms’  sources  of  investment, 
reallocation  of  tasks  from  part-time  false  self-employed  to  full-time  workers).  For  some 
people working through digital labour platforms currently earning above the minimum wage, 
reclassification  might  lead  to  lower  wages,  as  some  digital  labour  platforms  might  offset 
higher social protection costs by reducing salaries. 

Other  measures  considered  in  the  Impact  Assessment  included:  non-binding  guidelines  on 
how to deal with misclassification cases; a combination of a shift in the burden of proof with 
out-of-court  administrative  procedures  for  dealing  with  the  misclassification  of  the 
employment  status;  non-binding  guidelines  on  algorithmic  management;  algorithmic 
management  rights  for  workers  only;  data  interoperability  obligations  for  digital  labour 
platforms; setting up national registers to improve relevant data collection and keep track of 
platform  work  developments,  including  in  cross  border  situations.  They  were  overall 
considered less efficient, less effective and less coherent vis-à-vis the stated objectives of the 
initiative,  as  well  as  with  the  overarching  values,  aims,  objectives  and  existing  and 
forthcoming initiatives of the EU.   

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The  initiative  includes  different  sets  of  measures,  some  of  which  aim  at  minimising 
compliance  costs  for  micro,  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SME).  While  measures 
addressing  the  risk  of  misclassification  cannot  be  mitigated  because  they  directly  pertain  to 
fundamental  workers’  rights,  the  administrative  procedures  required  by  the  measures  on 
algorithmic management and on improving enforcement, traceability and transparency allow 
for mitigations tailored to SMEs. Notably, these include longer deadlines to provide responses 
for requests of review of algorithmic decisions and the reduction in the frequency of updating 
relevant information.  

• 

Fundamental rights 

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union protects a broad range of rights in 
the employment context. These include the workers’ right to fair and just working conditions 

EN 

13 

  EN 

(Article 31) and to information and consultation within the undertaking (Article 27) , as well 
as  the  right  to  the  protection  of  personal  data  (Article  8)  and  the  freedom  to  conduct  a 
business (Article 16). The proposed Directive promotes the rights contained in the Charter in 
the  platform  work  context  by  addressing  the  employment  status  misclassification  and  by 
putting forward specific provisions regarding the use of automated monitoring and decision-
making systems in platform work. It also strengthens information and consultation rights for 
platform workers and their representatives on decisions likely to lead to the introduction of or 
substantial changes in the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems.   

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal does not require additional resources from the European Union's budget. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Member  States  must  transpose  the  Directive  two  years  after  it  enters  into  force  and 
communicate to the Commission the national execution measures via the MNE-Database. In 
line with Article 153(3) TFEU, they may entrust the social partners with the implementation 
of the Directive. The Commission stands ready to provide technical support to Member States 
to implement the Directive.  

The Commission will review the implementation of the Directive five years after it enters into 
force and propose, where appropriate, legislative amendments. Progress towards achieving the 
objectives of the initiative will be monitored by a series of core indicators (listed in the Impact 
Assessment  Report).  The  monitoring  framework  will  be  subject  to  further  adjustment 
according to the final legal and implementation requirements and timeline.  

• 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

The  proposed  Directive  touches  on  labour  law,  specifies  and  complements  data  protection 
rules and contains both substantive and procedural rules. Member States might use different 
legal  instruments  to  transpose  it.  It  is  therefore  justified  that  Member  States  accompany  the 
notification  of  their  transposition  measures  with  one  or  more  documents  explaining  the 
relationship between the components of the Directive and the corresponding parts of national 
transposition instruments, in accordance with the Joint Political Declaration of 28 September 
2011 of Member States and the Commission on explanatory documents.50 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Chapter I – General provisions  

Article 1 – Subject matter and scope 

This  provision  establishes  the  purpose  of  the  Directive,  namely  to  improve  the  working 
conditions  of  persons  performing  platform  work  by  ensuring  correct  determination  of  their 
employment  status,  by  promoting  transparency,  fairness  and  accountability  in  algorithmic 
management in platform work and by improving transparency in platform work, including in 
cross-border situations.  

This  article  also  defines  the  personal  scope  of  the  Directive,  which  includes  persons 
performing  platform  work  in  the  Union,  irrespective  of  their  employment  status,  albeit  to  a 

50 

OJ C 369, 17.12.2011, p. 14. 

EN 

14 

  EN 

                                                 
various extent depending on the provisions concerned. As a general rule, the Directive covers 
persons  who  have,  or  who  based  on  an  assessment  of  facts  may  be  deemed  to  have,  an 
employment contract or employment relationship as defined by the law, collective agreements 
or  practice  in  force  in  the  Member  States,  with  consideration  to  the  case-law  of  the  CJEU. 
This  approach  is  meant  to  include  situations  where  the  employment  status  of  the  person 
performing platform work is not clear, including instances of false self-employment, so as to 
allow correct determination of that status.  

However, the provisions of the chapter on algorithmic management, which are related to the 
processing of personal data and thus covered by the legal basis of Article 16(2) TFEU, also 
apply  to  persons  performing  platform  work  in  the  Union  who  do  not  have  an  employment 
relationship,  i.e.  the  genuine  self-employed  and  those  with  another  employment  status  that 
may exist in some Member States. 

The  digital  labour  platforms  concerned  by  this  proposal  are  those  which  organise  platform 
work  in  the  Union,  irrespective  of  their  place  of  establishment  and  irrespective  of  the  law 
otherwise  applicable.  The  decisive  element  for  the  territorial  applicability  is  thus  the  place 
where  platform  work  is  performed  and  not  the  place  where  the  digital  labour  platform  is 
established or where the service to the recipient is offered or provided.  

Article 2 – Definitions 

This provision defines a number of terms and concepts necessary to interpret the provisions of 
the  Directive,  including  ‘digital  labour  platform’,  ‘platform  work’  and  ‘representative’.  It 
distinguishes between ‘persons performing platform work’ – irrespective of their employment 
status – and ‘platform workers’ – who are in an employment relationship. 

Chapter II – Employment status 

Article 3 – Correct determination of the employment status 

This  article  requires  Member  States  to  have  in  place  appropriate  procedures  to  verify  and 
ensure  the  correct  determination  of  the  employment  status  of  persons  performing  platform 
work,  so  as  to  allow  persons  that  are  possibly  misclassified  as  self-employed  (or  any  other 
status) to ascertain whether they should be considered to be in an employment relationship – 
in line with national definitions – and, if so, to be reclassified as workers. This will ensure that 
false self-employed have the possibility to obtain access to working conditions laid down in 
Union or national law in line with their correct employment status.  

The provision also clarifies that the correct determination of the employment status should be 
based on the principle of the primacy of facts, i.e. guided primarily by the facts relating to the 
actual performance of work and the remuneration, taking into account the use of algorithms in 
platform  work,  and  not  by  how  the  relationship  is  defined  in  the  contract.  Where  an 
employment relationship exists, the procedures in place should also clearly identify who is to 
assume the obligations of the employer. 

Article 4 – Legal presumption 

This  provision  establishes  the  legal  presumption  that  an  employment  relationship  exists 
between  the  digital  labour  platform  and  a  person  performing  platform  work,  if  the  digital 
labour  platform  controls  certain  elements  of  the  performance  of  work.  Member  States  are 
required to establish a framework to ensure that the legal presumption applies in all relevant 
administrative  and  legal  proceedings  and  that  enforcement  authorities,  such  as  labour 
inspectorates or social protection bodies, can also rely on that presumption. 

EN 

15 

  EN 

The  article  defines  criteria  that  indicate  that  the  digital  labour  platform  controls  the 
performance of work. The fulfillment of at least two indicators should trigger the application 
of the presumption.  

Member States are also required to ensure effective implementation of the legal presumption 
through  supporting  measures,  such  as  disseminating  information  to  the  public,  developing 
guidance and strengthening controls and field inspections, which are essential to ensure legal 
certainty and transparency for all parties involved. 

The provision also clarifies that the legal presumption should not have retroactive effects, i.e. 
should not apply to factual situations before the transposition deadline of the Directive.  

Article 5 – Possibility to rebut the legal presumption 

This  provision  ensures  the  possibility  to  rebut  the  legal  presumption  in  relevant  legal  and 
administrative proceedings, i.e. to prove that the contractual relationship at stake is in fact not 
an  ‘employment  relationship’  in  line  with  the  definition  in  force  in  the  Member  State 
concerned. The burden of proof that there is no employment relationship will be on the digital 
labour platform. 

Chapter III – Algorithmic management 

Article 6 – Transparency on and use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems 

This provision requires digital labour platforms to inform platform workers of the use and key 
features of automated monitoring systems – which are used to monitor, supervise or evaluate 
the  work  performance  of  platform  workers  through  electronic  means  –  and  automated 
decision making systems – which are used to take or support decisions that significantly affect 
platform workers’ working conditions.  

The information to be provided includes the categories of actions monitored, supervised and 
evaluated (including by clients) and the main parameters that such systems take into account 
for  automated  decisions.  The  article  specifies  in  what  form  and  at  which  point  in  time  this 
information is to be provided and that it should also be made available to labour authorities 
and platform workers’ representatives upon request.  

In  addition,  the  article  provides  that  digital  labour  platforms  must  not  process  any  personal 
data concerning platform workers that are not intrinsically connected to and strictly necessary 
for  the  performance  of  their  contract.  This  includes  data  on  private  conversations,  on  the 
health,  psychological  or  emotional  state  of  the  platform  worker  and  any  data  while  the 
platform worker is not offering or performing platform work.  

Article 7 – Human monitoring of automated systems 

This provision requires digital labour platforms to regularly monitor and evaluate the impact 
of  individual  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making 
systems on working conditions. In particular, digital labour platforms will have to evaluate the 
risks  of  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  to  the  safety  and  health  of 
platform workers and ensure that such systems do not in any manner put undue pressure on 
platform workers or otherwise put at risk the physical and mental health of platform workers. 

The  article  also  stipulates  the  need  for  digital  labour  platforms  to  ensure  sufficient  human 
resources for this monitoring of automated systems. The persons charged by the digital labour 
platform with that task must have the necessary competence, training and authority to exercise 
their function and must be protected from negative consequences (such as dismissal or other 
sanctions) for overriding automated decisions. 

EN 

16 

  EN 

Article 8 – Human review of significant decisions 

This  provision  establishes  the  right  for  platform  workers  to  obtain  an  explanation  from  the 
digital  labour  platform  for  a  decision  taken  or  supported  by  automated  systems  that 
significantly  affects  their  working  conditions.  For  that  purpose  the  digital  labour  platform 
should  provide  the  possibility  for  them  to  discuss  and  clarify  the  facts,  circumstances  and 
reasons for such decisions with a human contact person at the digital labour platform.  

In  addition,  the  article  requires  digital  labour  platforms  to  provide  a  written  statement  of 
reasons  for  any  decision  to  restrict,  suspend  or  terminate  the  platform  worker’s  account,  to 
refuse the remuneration for work performed by the platform worker, or affecting the platform 
worker’s contractual status.  

Where the explanation obtained is not satisfactory or where platform workers consider their 
rights infringed, they also have the right to  request  the digital labour platform to  review the 
decision and to  obtain a substantiated reply within a  week. Digital  labour platforms have to 
rectify  the  decision  without  delay  or,  if  that  is  not  possible  anymore,  to  provide  adequate 
compensation, if the decision infringes the platform worker’s rights.  

Article 9 – Information and consultation 

This  provision  requires  digital  labour  platforms  to  inform  and  consult  platform  workers’ 
representatives  or,  if  there  are  no  representatives,  the  platform  workers  themselves  on 
algorithmic  management  decisions,  for  instance  if  they  intend  to  introduce  new  automated 
monitoring  or  decision-making  systems  or  make  substantial  changes  to  those  systems.  The 
aim  of  this  provision  is  to  promote  social  dialogue  on  algorithmic  management.  Given  the 
complexity of the subject  matter, the representatives or  the platform workers concerned  can 
be  assisted  by  an  expert  of  their  choice.  This  article  is  without  prejudice  to  existing 
information and consultation requirements under Directive 2002/14/EC. 

Article 10 – Persons performing platform work who do not have an employment relationship 

This provision ensures that the provisions on transparency, human monitoring and review of 
Articles 6, 7 and 8 – which relate to the processing of personal data by automated systems – 
also apply to persons performing platform work who do not have an employment contract or 
employment relationship, i.e. the genuine self-employed. This does not include the provisions 
on health and safety at work, which are specific to workers. 

This  is  without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  the  Platforms-to-Business  Regulation 
(2019/1150). Its provisions prevail if they cover specific aspects of the Directive in respect of 
self-employed ‘business users’ within the meaning of the Regulation. Article 8 does not apply 
to ‘business users’ at all. 

Chapter IV – Transparency on platform work 

Article 11 – Declaration of platform work 

This  provision  clarifies  that  digital  labour  platforms  which  are  employers  have  to  declare 
work performed by platform workers to the competent labour and social protection authorities 
of  the  Member  State  in  which  the  work  is  performed  and  to  share  relevant  data  with  those 
authorities, in accordance with national rules and procedures. This clarification is particularly 
relevant  for  digital  labour  platforms  which  are  established  in  another  country  than  the  one 
where platform work is performed. 

Article 12 – Access to relevant information on platform work 

EN 

17 

  EN 

This  provision  requires  digital  labour  platforms  to  make  certain  information  accessible  to 
labour,  social  protection  and  other  relevant  authorities  ensuring  compliance  with  legal 
obligations  and  the  representatives  of  persons  performing  platform  work.  This  information 
includes the number of persons performing platform work through the digital labour platform 
concerned on a regular basis and their contractual or employment status, as well as the general 
terms and conditions applicable to those contractual relationships. The information should be 
regularly updated and further clarifications and details should be provided at request.  

Chapter V – Remedies and enforcement 

Article 13 – Right to redress 

This  provision  requires  Member  States  to  provide  access  to  effective  and  impartial  dispute 
resolution  and  a  right  to  redress  and,  where  appropriate,  adequate  compensation,  for 
infringements of the rights established under the Directive.  

Article 14 – Procedures on behalf or in support of persons performing platform work  

This  provision  enables  representatives  of  persons  performing  platform  work  or  other  legal 
entities  which  have  a  legitimate  interest  in  defending  the  rights  of  persons  performing 
platform  work,  to  engage  in  any  judicial  or  administrative  procedure  to  enforce  any  of  the 
rights or obligations under this proposal. Such entities should have the right to act on behalf or 
in  support  of  a  person  performing  platform  work,  with  the  person’s  approval,  in  such 
procedures and also to bring claims on behalf of more than one person performing platform 
work.  This  aims  at  overcoming  the  procedural  and  cost-related  obstacles  that  persons 
performing  platform  work  face  in  particular  when  seeking  to  have  their  employment  status 
correctly determined.  

Article 15 – Communication channels for persons performing platform work   

This article requires digital labour platforms to create the possibility for persons performing 
platform  work  to  contact  and  communicate  with  each  other,  and  to  be  contacted  by 
representatives  of  persons  performing  platform  work,  through  the  digital  labour  platforms’ 
digital  infrastructure  or  similarly  effective  means.  The  aim  is  to  ensure  the  possibililty  for 
persons performing platform work to get to know and communicate with each other, also in 
view of defending their interests, despite the lack of a common place of work. 

Article 16 – Access to evidence 

This  article  ensures  that  national  courts  or  other  competent  authorities  can  order  the  digital 
labour  platform  to  disclose  relevant  evidence  lying  in  their  control,  during  proceedings 
concerning  a  claim  regarding  correct  determination  of  the  employment  status  of  persons 
performing platform work. This includes evidence containing confidential information – such 
as  relevant  data  on  algorithms  –  where  they  consider  it  relevant  to  the  claim,  provided  that 
effective measures are in place to protect this information.  

Article 17 – Protection against adverse treatment or consequences 

This  provision  requires  Member  States  to  provide  persons  performing  platform  work 
complaining  about  breaches  of  provisions  adopted  pursuant  to  the  Directive  with  adequate 
judicial  protection  against  any  adverse  treatment  or  consequences  by  the  digital  labour 
platform. 

Article 18 – Protection from dismissal  

EN 

18 

  EN 

If a person performing platform work considers that he or she has been dismissed or subject to 
equivalent  detriment  (such  as  the  deactivation  of  the  account)  on  the  ground  that  he  or  she 
exercises rights established in the Directive, and is able to establish facts which support this 
assertion,  this  provision  places  on  the  digital  labour  platform  the  burden  to  prove  that  the 
dismissal or alleged detrimental treatment was based on other objective reasons.  

Article 19 – Supervision and penalties 

This provision clarifies that the procedural framework for the enforcement of GDPR rules, in 
particular as regards supervision, cooperation and consistency mechanisms, remedies, liability 
and penalties applies to the provisions on algorithmic management which are based on Article 
16  TFEU  and  that  the  data  protection  supervisory  authorities  are  competent  to  monitor  the 
application of those provisions, including the power to impose administrative fines.  

The provision requires labour and social protection authorities and data protection supervisory 
authorities to cooperate, including by exchanging relevant information. 

It also requires Member States to provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties 
for breaches of the obligations under this Directive, and to make sure that they are applied. 

Chapter VI – Final provisions 

Article 20 – More favourable provisions 

This provision allows Member States to provide a higher level of protection for workers than 
that  guaranteed  by  the  Directive,  and  preventing  its  use  to  lower  existing  standards  in  the 
same fields. This applies to self-employed persons only insofar as more favourable rules are 
compatible with internal market rules.  

Article 21 – Implementation 

This provision establishes the maximum period that Member States have in order to transpose 
the Directive into national law and communicate the relevant texts to the Commission. This 
period  is  set  at  two  years  after  the  date  of  entry  into  force.  Moreover,  it  highlights  that 
Member  States  may  entrust  the  social  partners  with  the  implementation  of  the  Directive, 
where social partners request to do so and as long as the Member States take all the necessary 
steps to ensure that they can at all times guarantee the results sought under this Directive.  

Article 22 – Review by the Commission  

This is a standard  provision requiring the  Commission  to  review the implementation of  this 
Directive five years after its entry into force, and to assess the need to revise and update the 
Directive.  

Articles 23 and 24 – Entry into force and Addressees  

These  provisions  stipulate  that  the  Directive  is  to  enter  into  force  on  the  twentieth  day 
following its publication in the Official Journal and is addressed to the Member States. 

EN 

19 

  EN 

2021/0414 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on improving working conditions in platform work 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 153  (2),  point  (b),  in  conjunction  with  Article  153  (1),  point  (b),  and  Article  16(2) 
thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Pursuant  to  Article  3  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union,  the  objectives  of  the  Union 
are,  amongst  others,  to  promote  the  well-being  of  its  peoples  and  to  work  for  the 
sustainable  development  of  Europe  based  on  a  highly  competitive  social  market 
economy, aiming at full employment and social progress. 

This  Directive  respects  fundamental  rights  and  observes  the  principles  recognised  in 
particular  by  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union  (‘the 
Charter’). In particular, Article 31 of the Charter provides for the right of every worker 
to working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity. Article 27 of 
the  Charter  protects  the  workers’  right  to  information  and  consultation  within  the 
undertaking.  Article  8  of  the  Charter  provides  that  everyone  has  the  right  to  the 
protection of personal data concerning him or her. Article 16 of the Charter recognises 
the freedom to conduct a business. 

Principle No 5 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, proclaimed at Gothenburg on 
17  November  20173,  provides  that,  regardless  of  the  type  and  duration  of  the 
employment relationship, workers have the right to fair and equal treatment regarding 
working conditions, access to social protection and training; that, in accordance with 
legislation and collective agreements, the necessary flexibility for employers to adapt 
swiftly to changes in the economic context is to be ensured; and that innovative forms 
that 
of  work 

that  ensure  quality  working  conditions  are 

to  be  fostered, 

1 
2 
3 

OJ C , , p.  
OJ C , , p. . 
Interinstitutional Proclamation on the European Pillar of Social Rights (OJ C 428, 13.12.2017, p. 10). 

EN 

20 

  EN 

                                                 
 
entrepreneurship  and  self-employment  are  to  be  encouraged  and  that  occupational 
mobility  is  to  be  facilitated.  The  Porto  Social  Summit  of  May  2021  welcomed  the 
Action Plan accompanying the Social Pillar4 as guidance for its implementation. 

Digitalisation  is  changing  the  world  of  work,  improving  productivity  and  enhancing 
flexibility,  while  also  carrying  some  risks  for  employment  and  working  conditions. 
Algorithm-based  technologies,  including  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making 
systems, have enabled the emergence and growth of digital labour platforms. 

Platform work is performed by individuals through the digital infrastructure of digital 
labour platforms that provide a service to their customers. By means of the algorithms, 
the digital labour platforms may control, to a lesser or greater extent – depending on 
their  business  model  –  the  performance  of  the  work,  its  remuneration  and  the 
relationship  between  their  customers  and  the  persons  performing  the  work.  Platform 
work  can  be  performed  exclusively  online  through  electronic  tools  (‘online  platform 
work’)  or  in  a  hybrid  way  combining  an  online  communication  process  with  a 
subsequent activity in the physical world (‘on-location platform work’). Many of the 
existing  digital  labour  platforms  are  international  business  actors  deploying  their 
activities and business models in several Member States or across borders. 

Platform work can provide opportunities for accessing the labour market more easily, 
gaining additional income through a secondary activity or enjoying some flexibility in 
the organisation of working time. At the same time, platform work brings challenges, 
as  it  can  blur  the  boundaries  between  employment  relationship  and  self-employed 
activity,  and  the  responsibilities  of  employers  and  workers.  Misclassification  of  the 
employment status has consequences for the persons affected, as it is likely to restrict 
access to existing labour and social rights. It also leads to an uneven playing field with 
respect  to businesses  that  classify their workers  correctly, and  it has  implications for 
Member  States’  industrial  relations  systems,  their  tax  base  and  the  coverage  and 
sustainability  of  their  social  protection  systems.  While  such  challenges  are  broader 
than platform work, they are particularly acute and pressing in the platform economy. 

Court cases in several Member States have shown the persistence of misclassification 
of  the  employment  status  in  certain  types  of  platform  work,  in  particular  in  sectors 
where digital labour platforms exert a certain degree of control over the remuneration 
and  performance  of  work.  While  digital  labour  platforms  frequently  classify  persons 
working  through  them  as  self-employed  or  ‘independent  contractors’,  many  courts 
have  found  that  the  platforms  exercise  de  facto  direction  and  control  over  those 
persons,  often  integrating  them  in  their  main  business  activities  and  unilaterally 
determining  the  level  of  remuneration.  Those  courts  have  therefore  reclassified 
purportedly  self-employed persons as workers  employed by  the platforms. However, 
national  case law has  resulted in  diverse outcomes  and digital  labour platforms  have 
adapted  their  business  model  in  various  ways,  thus  increasing  the  lack  of  legal 
certainty over the employment status. 

Automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  powered  by  algorithms 
increasingly  replace  functions  that  managers  usually  perform  in  businesses,  such  as 
allocating  tasks,  giving  instructions,  evaluating  the  work  performed,  providing 
incentives  or  imposing  sanctions.  Digital  labour  platforms  use  such  algorithmic 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  ‘The  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights Action Plan’, COM(2021) 102 final, 4.3.2021. 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

4 

EN 

21 

  EN 

                                                 
systems  as  a  standard  way  of  organising  and  managing  platform  work  through  their 
infrastructure.  Persons  performing  platform  work  subject  to  such  algorithmic 
management often lack information on how the algorithms work, which personal data 
are being used and how their behaviour affects decisions taken by automated systems. 
Workers’  representatives  and  labour  inspectorates  do  not  have  access  to  this 
information  either.  Moreover,  persons  performing  platform  work  often  do  not  know 
the  reasons  for  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  automated  systems  and  lack  the 
possibility to discuss those decisions with a contact person or to contest them. 

(9)  When platforms operate in several Member States or across borders, it is often unclear 
where the platform work is performed and by whom. Also, national authorities do not 
have easy access to data on digital labour platforms, including the number of persons 
performing  platform  work,  their  employment  status,  and  their  working  conditions. 
This  complicates  the  enforcement  of  applicable  rules,  including  in  respect  of  labour 
law and social protection. 

(10)  A  body  of  legal  instruments  provides  for  minimum  standards  in  working  conditions 
and  labour  rights  across  the  Union.  This  includes  in  particular  Directive  (EU) 
2019/1152  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council5  on  transparent  and 
predictable  working  conditions,    Directive  2003/88/EC  of  the  European  Parliament 
and  of  the  Council6  on  working  time,  Directive  2008/104/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council7  on  temporary  agency  work,  and  other  specific 
instruments on aspects such as health and safety at work, pregnant workers, work-life 
balance,  fixed-term  work,  part-time  work,  posting  of  workers,  information  and 
consultation  of  workers,  among  others.  While  those  instruments  provide  a  level  of 
protection to workers, they do not apply to the genuine self-employed. 

(11)  Council Recommendation 2019/C 387/018 on access  to  social protection for workers 
and the self-employed recommends Member States to take measures ensuring formal 
and effective coverage, adequacy and transparency of social protection schemes for all 
workers  and  self-employed.  Member  States  currently  have  varying  degrees  of 
providing social protection to the self-employed. 

(12)  Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council9 (‘General 
Data Protection Regulation’) ensures the protection of natural persons with regard to 
the  processing  of  personal  data,  and  in  particular  provides  certain  rights  and 
obligations as well as safeguards concerning lawful, fair and transparent processing of 
personal  data,  including  with  regard  to  automated  individual  decision-making. 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

Directive  (EU)  2019/1152  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  June  2019  on 
transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union (OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 105). 
Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 concerning 
certain aspects of the organisation of working time (OJ L 299, 18.11.2003, p. 9). 
Directive  2008/104/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  19  November  2008  on 
temporary agency work (OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, p. 9). 
Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 on access to social protection for workers and the self-
employed (2019/C 387/01) (OJ C 387, 15.11.2019, p. 1). 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  27  April  2016  on  the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of 
such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, 
p. 1). 

EN 

22 

  EN 

                                                 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council10 promotes 
fairness  and  transparency  for  ‘business  users’  using  online  intermediation  services 
provided  by  operators  of  online  platforms.  The  European  Commission  has  proposed 
further  legislation  laying  down  harmonised  rules  for  providers  and  users  of  artificial 
intelligence systems11. 

(13)  While  existing  or  proposed  Union  legal  acts  provide  for  certain  general  safeguards, 
challenges  in  platform  work  require  some  further  specific  measures.  In  order  to 
adequately  frame  the  development  of  platform  work  in  a  sustainable  manner,  it  is 
necessary  for  the  Union  to  set  new  minimum  standards  in  working  conditions  to 
address the challenges arising from platform work. Persons performing platform work 
in the Union should be provided with a number of minimum rights aiming at ensuring 
correct determination of their employment status, at promoting transparency, fairness 
and  accountability  in  algorithmic  management,  and  at  improving  transparency  in 
platform work, including in cross-border situations. This should be done with a view 
to  improving  legal  certainty,  creating  a  level  playing  field  between  digital  labour 
platforms  and  offline  providers  of  services  and  supporting  the  sustainable  growth  of 
digital labour platforms in the Union. 

(14)  The  Commission  has  undertaken  a  two-stage  consultation  of  the  social  partners,  in 
accordance with Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
on the improvement of working conditions in platform work. There was no agreement 
among the social partners to enter into negotiations with regard to those matters. It is, 
however, important  to  take action at  Union level in  this  area by  adapting the current 
legal framework to the emergence of platform work. 

(15) 

In  addition,  the  Commission  held  extensive  exchanges  with  relevant  stakeholders, 
including digital labour platforms, associations of persons performing platform work, 
international  organisations  and 
experts  from  academia,  Member  States  and 
representatives of civil society. 

(16)  This  Directive  should  apply  to  persons  performing  platform  work  in  the  Union  who 
have, or who based on an assessment of facts may be deemed to have, an employment 
contract  or  employment  relationship  as  defined  by  the  law,  collective  agreements  or 
practice in force in the Member States, with consideration to the case-law of the Court 
of  Justice  of  the  European  Union.  This  should  include  situations  where  the 
employment status of the person performing platform work is not clear, so as to allow 
correct determination of that status. The provisions on algorithmic management which 
are  related  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  should  also  apply  to  genuine  self-
employed and other persons performing platform work in the Union who do not have 
an employment relationship. 

(17)  This Directive should apply to all digital labour platforms, irrespective of their place 
of  establishment  and  irrespective  of  the  law  otherwise  applicable,  provided  that  the 
platform  work  organised  through  that  digital  labour  platform  is  performed  in  the 
Union.  A  targeted  set  of  mandatory  rules  should  be  established  at  Union  level  to 
ensure minimum rights on working conditions in platform work. 

10 

11 

Regulation  (EU)  2019/1150  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  June  2019  on 
promoting  fairness  and  transparency  for  business  users  of  online  intermediation  services  (OJ  L  186, 
11.7.2019, p. 57). 
COM(2021) 206 final, 21.4.2021. 

EN 

23 

  EN 

                                                 
(18)  Digital labour platforms differ from other online platforms in that they organise work 
performed  by  individuals  at  the  request,  one-off  or  repeated,  of  the  recipient  of  a 
service  provided  by  the  platform.  Organising  work  performed  by  individuals  should 
imply at a minimum a significant role in matching the demand for the service with the 
supply of labour by  an individual  who has a contractual relationship  with  the  digital 
labour platform and who is available to perform a specific task, and can include other 
activities  such  as  processing  payments.  Online  platforms  which  do  not  organise  the 
work  performed  by  individuals  but  merely  provide  the  means  by  which  service 
providers  can  reach  the  end-user,  for  instance  by  advertising  offers  or  requests  for 
services  or  aggregating  and  displaying  available  service  providers  in  a  specific  area, 
without  any  further  involvement,  should  not  be  considered  a  digital  labour  platform. 
The  definition  of  digital  labour  platforms  should  not  include  providers  of  a  service 
whose  primary  purpose  is  to  exploit  or  share  assets,  such  as  short-term  rental  of 
accommodation.  It  should  be  limited  to  providers  of  a  service  for  which  the 
organisation  of  work  performed  by  the  individual,  such  as  transport  of  persons  or 
goods  or  cleaning,  constitutes  a  necessary  and  essential  and  not  merely  a  minor  and 
purely ancillary component. 

(19)  To  combat  false  self-employment  in  platform  work  and  to  facilitate  the  correct 
determination  of  the  employment  status,  Member  States  should  have  appropriate 
procedures in place to prevent and address misclassification of the employment status 
of  persons  performing  platform  work.  The  aim  of  those  procedures  should  be  to 
ascertain  the  existence  of  an  employment  relationship  as  defined  by  national  law, 
collective  agreements  or  practice  with  consideration  to  the  case-law  of  the  Court  of 
Justice,  and,  where  such  employment  relationship  exists,  to  ensure  full  compliance 
with  Union  law  applicable  to  workers  as  well  as  national  labour  law,  collective 
agreements  and  social  protection  rules.  Where  self-employment  or  an  intermediate 
employment  status  –  as  defined  at  national  level  –  is  the  correct  employment  status, 
rights and obligations pursuant to that status should apply.  

(20) 

In its case law, the Court of Justice has established criteria for determining the status 
of  a  worker12.  The  interpretation  by  the  Court  of  Justice  of  those  criteria  should  be 
taken into account in the implementation of this Directive. The abuse of the status of 
self-employed persons, as defined in national law, either at national level or in cross-
border situations, is a form of falsely declared work that is frequently associated with 
undeclared work. False self-employment occurs when a person is declared to be self-
employed while fulfilling the conditions characteristic of an employment relationship, 
in order to avoid certain legal or fiscal obligations. 

(21)  The principle of primacy of facts, meaning that the determination of the existence of 
an  employment  relationship  should  be  guided  primarily  by  the  facts  relating  to  the 
actual  performance  of  work,  including  its  remuneration,  and  not  by  the  parties’ 
description of the relationship, in accordance with the 2006 Employment Relationship 
Recommendation  (No  198)  of  the  International  Labour  Organisation,  is  particularly 

12 

Judgments of the Court of Justice of 3 July 1986, Deborah Lawrie-Blum v Land Baden-Württemberg, 
C-66/85, ECLI:EU:C:1986:284; 14 October 2010, Union Syndicale Solidaires Isère v Premier ministre 
and Others, C-428/09, ECLI:EU:C:2010:612; 4 December 2014, FNV Kunsten Informatie en Media v 
Staat  der  Nederlanden,  C-413/13,  ECLI:EU:C:2014:2411;  9  July  2015,  Ender  Balkaya  v  Kiesel 
Abbruch-  und  Recycling  Technik  GmbH,  C-229/14,  ECLI:EU:C:2015:455;  17  November  2016, 
Betriebsrat der Ruhrlandklinik gGmbH v Ruhrlandklinik gGmbH, C-216/15, ECLI:EU:C:2016:883; 16 
July 2020, UX v Governo della Repubblica italiana, C-658/18, ECLI:EU:C:2020:572; and order of the 
Court of Justice of 22 April 2020, B v Yodel Delivery Network Ltd, C-692/19, ECLI:EU:C:2020:288. 

EN 

24 

  EN 

                                                 
relevant  in  the  case  of  platform  work,  where  contractual  conditions  are  often 
unilaterally determined by one party. 

(22)  Where the existence of an employment relationship is established based on facts, the 
party acting as employer should be clearly identified and that party should fulfil all the 
obligations resulting from its role as employer. 

(23)  Ensuring  correct  determination  of  the  employment  status  should  not  prevent  the 
improvement  of  working  conditions  of  genuine  self-employed  persons  performing 
platform work. Where a digital labour platform decides – on a purely voluntary basis 
or  in  agreement  with  the  persons  concerned  –  to  pay  for  social  protection,  accident 
insurance  or  other  forms  of  insurance,  training  measures  or  similar  benefits  to  self-
employed persons working through that platform, those benefits as such should not be 
regarded  as  determining  elements  indicating  the  existence  of  an  employment 
relationship. 

(24)  When  digital  labour  platforms  control  certain  elements  of  the  performance  of  work, 
they act like employers in an employment relationship. Direction and control, or legal 
subordination, is an essential element of the definition of an employment relationship 
in the Member States and in the case-law of the Court of Justice. Therefore contractual 
relationships  in  which  digital  labour  platforms  exert  a  certain  level  of  control  over 
certain  elements  of  the  performance  of  work  should  be  deemed,  by  virtue  of  a  legal 
presumption, to  be  an employment  relationship  between the platform and the person 
performing platform work through it. As a result, that person should be classified as a 
worker  having  all  the  rights  and  obligations  in  accordance  with  that  status,  as  laid 
down  in  national  and  Union  law,  collective  agreements  and  practice.  The  legal 
presumption  should  apply  in  all  relevant  administrative  and  legal  proceedings  and 
should benefit the person performing platform work. Authorities in charge of verifying 
the  compliance  with  or  enforcing  relevant  legislation,  such  as  labour  inspectorates, 
social  protection  bodies  or  tax  authorities,  should  also  be  able  to  rely  on  that 
presumption.  Member  States  should  put  in  place  a  national  framework  to  reduce 
litigation and increase legal certainty.  

(25)  Criteria  indicating  that  a  digital  labour  platform  controls  the  performance  of  work 
should be included in the Directive in order to make the legal presumption operational 
and facilitate the enforcement of workers’ rights. Those criteria should be inspired by 
Union  and  national  case  law  and  take  into  account  national  concepts  of  the 
employment relationship. The criteria should include concrete elements showing that 
the  digital  labour  platform,  for  instance,  determines  in  practice  and  not  merely 
recommends the working conditions or the remuneration or both, gives instructions on 
how  the  work  is  to  be  performed  or  prevents  the  person  performing  platform  work 
from developing business contacts with potential clients. In order for it to be effective 
in  practice,  two  criteria  should  be  always  fulfilled  to  trigger  the  application  of  the 
presumption,.  At  the  same  time,  the  criteria  should  not  cover  situations  where  the 
persons performing platform work are genuine self-employed. Genuine self-employed 
persons  are  themselves  responsible  vis-à-vis  their  customers  for  how  they  perform 
their work and the quality  of their outputs. The freedom to choose working hours or 
periods of absence, to refuse tasks, to use subcontractors or substitutes or to work for 
any  third  party  is  characteristic  of  genuine  self-employment.  Therefore,  de  facto 
restricting  such  discretions  by  a  number  of  conditions  or  through  a  system  of 
sanctions, should also be considered as an element of controlling the performance of 
work. Closely supervising the performance of work or thoroughly verifying the quality 
of the results of that work, including through electronic means, which does not merely 

EN 

25 

  EN 

consist  in  using  reviews  or  ratings  by  the  recipients  of  the  service,  should  also  be 
considered  as  an  element  of  controlling  the  performance  of  work.  At  the  same  time, 
digital labour platforms should be able to design their technical interfaces in a way to 
ensure  good  consumer  experience.  Measures  or  rules  which  are  required  by  law  or 
which are necessary to safeguard the health and safety of the recipients of the service 
should not be understood as controlling the performance of work.  

(26)  Effective implementation of the legal presumption through appropriate measures, such 
as  disseminating  information  to  the  public,  developing  guidance  and  strengthening 
controls and field inspections is essential to ensure legal certainty and transparency for 
all parties involved. These measures should take into account the specific situation of 
start-ups to support the entrepreneurial potential and the conditions for the sustainable 
growth of digital labour platforms in the Union. 

(27) 

In the interest of legal certainty, the legal presumption should not have any retroactive 
legal effects before the transposition date of this Directive and should therefore only 
apply  to  the  period  starting  from  that  date,  including  for  contractual  relationships 
entered  into  before  and  still  ongoing  on  that  date.  Claims  relating  to  the  possible 
existence  of  an  employment  relationship  before  that  date  and  resulting  rights  and 
obligations  until  that  date  should  therefore  be  assessed  only  on  the  basis  of  national 
law and Union law predating this Directive.  

(28)  The  relationship  between  a  person  performing  platform  work  and  a  digital  labour 
platform may not meet the requirements of an employment relationship in accordance 
with the definition laid down in the law, collective agreements or practice in force of 
the respective Member State with consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice, 
even though the digital labour platform controls the performance of work on a given 
aspect. Member States should ensure the possibility to rebut the legal presumption in 
legal  or  administrative  proceedings  or  both  by  proving,  on  the  basis  of  the 
aforementioned  definition,  that  the  relationship  in  question  is  not  an  employment 
relationship. The shift in the burden of proof to digital labour platforms is justified by 
the  fact  that  they  have  a  complete  overview  of  all  factual  elements  determining  the 
relationship, in particular the algorithms through which they manage their operations. 
Legal  proceedings  and  administrative  proceedings  initiated  by  the  digital  labour 
platforms in order to rebut the legal presumption should not have a suspensive effect 
on the application of the legal presumption. A successful rebuttal of the presumption 
in administrative proceedings should not preclude the application of the presumption 
in subsequent judicial proceedings. When the person performing platform work who is 
the subject of the presumption seeks to rebut the legal presumption, the digital labour 
platform  should  be  required  to  assist  that  person,  notably  by  providing  all  relevant 
information  held  by  the  platform  in  respect  of  that  person.  Member  States  should 
provide the necessary guidance for procedures to rebut the legal presumption.  

(29)  While Regulation (EU) 2016/679 establishes the general framework for the protection 
of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, it is necessary to lay 
down rules addressing the concerns that are specific in the processing of personal data 
in the context of platform work. This Directive provides for more specific rules in the 
context of platform work, including to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms 
in respect of the processing of employees' personal data within the meaning of Article 
88  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679.  In  this  context,  terms  relating  to  the  protection  of 

EN 

26 

  EN 

 
(30) 

personal data in this Directive should be understood in light of the definitions set out 
in Regulation (EU) 2016/679. 

In addition to rights and obligations provided in this Directive, rights and obligations 
provided  in  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  continue  to  apply  when  personal  data  are 
processed. Articles 13, 14 and 15 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 require data controllers 
to  ensure  transparency  towards  data  subjects  on  the  collection  and  processing  of 
personal data. Moreover, Article 22(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 provides for the 
data  subjects’  right  not  to  be  subject  to  a  decision  based  solely  on  automated 
processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or 
similarly  significantly  affects  him  or  her,  subject  to  the  exceptions  provided  for  in 
paragraph 2 of that article. Those obligations apply also to digital labour platforms.  

(31)  This Directive is  without prejudice to  Articles 13, 14, 15 and 22 of  Regulation (EU) 
2016/679,  except  for  Articles  13(2)(f),  14(2)(g)  and  15(1)(h)  thereof,  in  relation  to 
which  Article  6  of  this  Directive  provides  for  more  specific  rules  in  the  context  of 
platform work, including to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms in respect 
of  the  processing  of  employees'  personal  data  within  the  meaning  of  Article  88  of 
Regulation (EU) 2016/679.  

(32)  Digital  labour  platforms  should  be  subject  to  transparency  obligations  in  relation  to 
automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  that  are  used  to  monitor, 
supervise or evaluate the work performance through electronic means; and automated 
decision-making systems which are used to take or support decisions that significantly 
affect  working  conditions,  including  access  of  persons  performing  platform  work  to 
work  assignments,  their  earnings,  their  occupational  safety  and  health,  their  working 
time, their promotion and their contractual status, including the restriction, suspension 
or  termination  of  their  account.  In  addition  to  what  is  provided  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679,  information  concerning  such  systems  should  also  be  provided  where 
decisions  are  not  solely  based  on  automated  processing,  provided  that  they  are 
supported by automated systems. It should also be specified which kind of information 
should  be  provided  to  persons  performing  platform  work  regarding  such  automated 
systems, as well as in which form and when it should be provided. The obligation of 
the controller under Articles 13, 14 and 15 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 to provide the 
data  subject  with  certain  information  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data 
concerning  the  data  subject  as  well  as  with  access  to  such  data  should  continue  to 
apply  in  the  context  of  platform  work.  Information  on  automated  monitoring  and 
decision-making  systems  should  also  be  provided  to  representatives  of  persons 
performing platform work and to national labour authorities at their request, in order to 
enable them to exercise their functions. 

(33)  Digital labour platforms should not be required to disclose the detailed functioning of 
their  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems,  including  algorithms,  or 
other  detailed  data  that  contains  commercial  secrets  or  is  protected  by  intellectual 
property rights. However, the result of those considerations should not be a refusal to 
provide all the information required by this Directive. 

(34)  Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 require that personal data are processed 
in a lawful, fair and transparent manner. Digital labour platforms should therefore not 
be allowed to process any personal data concerning persons performing platform work 
that are not intrinsically connected to and strictly necessary for the performance of the 
contract  between  those  persons  and  the  digital  labour  platform.  Article  6(5)  of  this 
Directive provides for more specific rules in the context of platform work, including to 

EN 

27 

  EN 

ensure  the  protection  of  the  rights  and  freedoms  in  respect  of  the  processing  of 
employees'  personal  data  within  the  meaning  of  Article  88  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679.  

(35)  Digital  labour  platforms  make  extensive  use  of  automated  monitoring  and  decision-
making systems in managing their human resources. Monitoring by electronic means 
can be intrusive and decisions taken or supported by such systems directly affect the 
persons performing platform work, who might not have a direct contact with a human 
manager  or  supervisor.  Digital  labour  platforms  should  therefore  regularly  monitor 
and  evaluate  the  impact  of  individual  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  automated 
monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  on  working  conditions.  Digital  labour 
platforms  should  ensure  sufficient  human  resources  for  this  purpose.  The  persons 
charged by the digital labour platform with the function of monitoring should have the 
necessary competence, training and authority to  exercise that function and should be 
protected  from  dismissal,  disciplinary  measures  or  other  adverse  treatment  for 
overriding automated decisions or suggestions for decisions. In addition to obligations 
under Article 22  of Regulation  (EU) 2016/679, Article 7(1) and (3)  of this Directive 
provides  for  distinct  obligations  of  digital  labour  platforms  in  relation  to  human 
monitoring  of  the  impact  of  individual  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  automated 
systems,  which  apply  as  specific  rules  in  the  context  of  platform  work,  including  to 
ensure  the  protection  of  the  rights  and  freedoms  in  respect  of  the  processing  of 
employees'  personal  data  within  the  meaning  of  Article  88  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679. 

(36)  Article  22(3)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  requires  data  controllers  to  implement 
suitable  measures  to  safeguard  data  subjects’  rights  and  freedoms  and  legitimate 
interests in  cases  where  the latter are subject  to  decisions  based solely on automated 
processing. That  provision  requires,  as a minimum,  the data subject’s right  to  obtain 
human  intervention  on  the  part  of  the  controller,  to  express  his  or  her  point  of  view 
and to contest the decision. Those requirements apply also to digital labour platforms. 
Article 8 of this Directive provides for more specific rules in the context of platform 
work, including  to ensure the protection of the rights  and freedoms in  respect  of the 
processing of employees' personal data within the meaning of Article 88 of Regulation 
(EU) 2016/679. 

(37) 

In that context, persons performing platform work should have the right to obtain an 
explanation from the digital labour platform for a decision, the lack of decision or a set 
of  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  automated  systems  that  significantly  affect  their 
working  conditions.  For  that  purpose  the  digital  labour  platform  should  provide  the 
possibility for them to discuss and clarify the facts, circumstances and reasons for such 
decisions  with  a  human  contact  person  at  the  digital  labour  platform.  In  addition, 
digital  labour  platforms  should  provide  the  person  performing  platform  work  with  a 
written  statement  of  reasons  for  any  decision  to  restrict,  suspend  or  terminate  that 
person’s  account,  to  refuse  the  remuneration  for  work  performed  by  that  person,  or 
affecting his or her contractual status, as such decisions are likely to have significant 
negative  effects  on  persons  performing  platform  work,  in  particular  their  potential 
earnings.  Where  the  explanation  or  reasons  obtained  are  not  satisfactory  or  where 
persons  performing  platform  work  consider  their  rights  infringed,  they  should  also 
have  the  right  to  request  the  digital  labour  platform  to  review  the  decision  and  to 
obtain a substantiated reply within a reasonable period of time. Where such decisions 
infringe those persons’ rights, such as labour rights or the right to non-discrimination, 

EN 

28 

  EN 

the digital labour platform should rectify such decisions without delay or, where that is 
not possible, provide adequate compensation.  

(38)  Council  Directive  89/391/EEC13  introduces  measures  to  encourage  improvements  in 
the  safety  and  health  of  workers  at  work,  including  the  obligation  for  employers  to 
assess the occupational health and safety risks. As automated monitoring and decision-
making systems potentially have significant impact on the physical and mental health 
of  persons  performing  platform  work,  digital  labour  platforms  should  evaluate  those 
risks,  assess  whether  the  safeguards  of  the  systems  are  appropriate  to  address  those 
risks and take appropriate preventive and protective measures.  

(39)  Directive  2002/14/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council14  establishes  a 
general  framework  for  informing  and  consulting  employees  in  the  Union.  The 
introduction  of  or  substantial  changes  in  the  use  of  automated  monitoring  and 
decision-making systems by digital labour platforms have direct impacts on the work 
organisation  and  individual  working  conditions  of  platform  workers.  Additional 
measures  are  necessary  to  ensure  that  digital  labour  platforms  inform  and  consult 
platform  workers  or  their  representatives  before  such  decisions  are  taken,  at  the 
appropriate  level  and,  given  the  technical  complexity  of  algorithmic  management 
systems,  with  the  assistance  of  an  expert  chosen  by  the  platform  workers  or  their 
representatives in a concerted manner where needed.  

(40)  Persons who do not  have an employment  relationship  constitute a significant  part of 
the  persons  performing  platform  work.  The  impact  of  automated  monitoring  and 
decision-making systems used by digital labour platforms on their working conditions 
and their  earning opportunities  is similar to  that  on  platform workers. Therefore, the 
rights  in  Articles  6,  7  and  8  of  this  Directive  pertaining  to  the  protection  of  natural 
persons  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  in  the  context  of  algorithmic 
management,  namely  those  regarding  transparency  on  automated  monitoring  and 
decision-making  systems,  restrictions  to  process  or  collect  personal  data,  human 
monitoring  and  review  of  significant  decisions,  should  also  apply  to  persons  in  the 
Union  performing  platform  work  who  do  not  have  an  employment  contract  or 
employment  relationship.  The  rights  pertaining  to  health  and  safety  at  work  and 
information  and  consultation  of  platform  workers  or  their  representatives,  which  are 
specific to workers in view of Union law, should not apply to them. Regulation (EU) 
2019/1150 provides safeguards regarding fairness and transparency for self-employed 
persons  performing  platform  work,  provided  that  they  are  considered  business  users 
within the meaning of that Regulation. Where such safeguards conflict with elements 
of specific rights and obligations laid down in this Directive, the specific provisions of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 should prevail in respect of business users. 

(41) 

In  order  to  ensure  that  digital  labour  platforms  comply  with  labour  legislation  and 
regulations,  social  security  contribution  obligations,  social  security  coordination  and 
other  relevant  rules,  in  particular  if  they  are  established  in  another  country  than  the 
Member  State  in  which  the  platform  worker  is  performing  work,  digital  labour 
platforms should declare work performed by platform workers to the competent labour 
and social protection authorities of the Member State in which the work is performed, 

13 

14 

Council  Directive  89/391/EEC  of  12  June  1989  on  the  introduction  of  measures  to  encourage 
improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1). 
Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a 
general  framework  for  informing  and  consulting  employees  in  the  European  Community  (OJ  L  80, 
23.3.2002, p. 29). 

EN 

29 

  EN 

                                                 
(42) 

in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in the law of the Member States 
concerned.  

Information  on  the  number  of  persons  performing  platform  work  through  digital 
labour  platforms  on  a  regular  basis,  their  contractual  or  employment  status  and  the 
general terms and conditions applicable to those contractual relationships is essential 
to support labour inspectorates, social protection bodies and other relevant authorities 
in correctly determining the employment status of persons performing platform work 
and in ensuring compliance with legal obligations as well as representatives of persons 
performing platform work in the exercise of their representative functions and should 
therefore  be  made  accessible  to  them.  Those  authorities  and  representatives  should 
also  have  the  right  to  ask  digital  labour  platforms  for  additional  clarifications  and 
details,  such  as  basic  data  on  working  conditions  regarding  working  time  and 
remuneration. 

(43)  An extensive system of enforcement provisions for the social acquis in the Union has 
been  developed,  elements  of  which  should  be  applied  to  this  Directive  in  order  to 
ensure  that  persons  performing  platform  work  have  access  to  effective  and  impartial 
dispute  resolution  and  a  right  to  redress, 
including  adequate  compensation. 
Specifically,  having  regard  to  the  fundamental  nature  of  the  right  to  effective  legal 
protection,  persons  performing  platform  work  should  continue  to  enjoy  such 
protection  even  after  the  end  of  the  employment  or  other  contractual  relationship 
giving rise to an alleged breach of rights under this Directive. 

(44)  Representatives of persons performing platform work should be able to represent one 
or  several  persons  performing  platform  work  in  any  judicial  or  administrative 
procedure  to  enforce  any  of  the  rights  or  obligations  arising  from  this  Directive. 
Bringing claims on behalf of or supporting several persons performing platform work 
is a way to facilitate proceedings that would not have been brought otherwise because 
of procedural and financial barriers or a fear of reprisals. 

(45)  Platform work is characterised by the lack of a common workplace where workers can 
get  to  know  each  other  and  communicate  with  each  other  and  with  their 
representatives,  also  in  view  of  defending  their  interests  towards  the  employer.  It  is 
therefore necessary to  create digital  communication channels,  in  line with  the digital 
labour  platforms’  work  organisation,  where  persons  performing  platform  work  can 
exchange  with  each  other  and  be  contacted  by  their  representatives.  Digital  labour 
platforms  should  create  such  communication  channels  within 
their  digital 
infrastructure or through similarly effective means, while respecting the protection of 
personal data and refraining from accessing or monitoring those communications. 

(46) 

In  administrative  or  judicial  proceedings  regarding  the  correct  determination  of  the 
employment  status  of  persons  performing  platform  work,  the  elements  regarding  the 
organisation  of  work  allowing  to  establish  the  employment  status  and  in  particular 
whether  the  digital  labour  platform  controls  certain  elements  of  the  performance  of 
work may be in the possession of the digital labour platform and not easily accessible 
to  persons  performing  platform  work  and  competent  authorities.  National  courts  or 
competent authorities should therefore be able to order the  digital labour platform to 
disclose  any  relevant  evidence  which  lies  in  their  control,  including  confidential 
information, subject to effective measures to protect such information. 

(47)  Given  that  Article  6,  Article  7(1)  and  (3)  and  Article  8  of  this  Directive  provide  for 
specific rules  in  the context  of platform work to  ensure the protection of  employees' 
personal data within the meaning of Article 88 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and that 

EN 

30 

  EN 

Article  10  of  this  Directive  applies  those  safeguards  also  in  case  of  persons  without 
employment contract or employment relationship, the national supervisory authorities 
referred to in Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 should be competent to monitor 
the  application  of  those  safeguards.  Chapters  VI,  VII  and  VIII  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679 should apply in terms of procedural framework for the enforcement of those 
safeguards,  in  particular  as  regards  supervision,  cooperation  and  consistency 
mechanisms,  remedies,  liability  and  penalties,  including  the  competence  to  impose 
administrative fines up to the amount referred to in Article 83(5) of that Regulation. 

(48)  Automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  used  in  the  context  of  platform 
work  involve  the  processing  of  personal  data  and  affect  the  working  conditions  and 
rights  of  persons  performing  platform  work.  They  therefore  raise  issues  of  data 
protection law as well as labour and social protection law. Data protection supervisory 
authorities  and  relevant  labour  and  social  protection  authorities  should  therefore 
cooperate  in  the  enforcement  of  this  Directive,  including  by  exchanging  relevant 
information with each other, without prejudice to the independence of data protection 
supervisory authorities. 

(49)  Since  the  objective  of  this  Directive,  namely  to  improve  working  conditions  in 
platform work, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, 
by reason of the need to establish common minimum requirements, be better achieved 
at  Union  level,  the  Union  may  adopt  measures,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of 
subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  In  accordance 
with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive does not 
go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. 

(50)  This  Directive  lays  down  minimum  requirements,  thus  leaving  untouched  Member 
States’ prerogative to introduce and maintain provisions which are more favourable for 
platform workers. Rights acquired under the existing legal framework should continue 
to  apply,  unless  more  favourable  provisions  are  introduced  by  this  Directive.  The 
implementation  of  this  Directive  cannot  be  used  to  reduce  existing  rights  set  out  in 
existing  Union  or  national  law  in  this  field,  nor  can  it  constitute  valid  grounds  for 
reducing the general level of protection in the field covered by this Directive. 

(51) 

In implementing this Directive Member States should avoid imposing administrative, 
financial  and  legal  constraints  in  a  way  which  would  hold  back  the  creation  and 
development  of  micro,  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises.  Member  States  should 
assess  the  impact  of  their  transposition  measures  on  start-ups  and  on  small  and 
medium-sized  enterprises  in  order  to  ensure  that  they  are  not  disproportionately 
affected,  giving  specific  attention  to  micro-enterprises  and  to  the  administrative 
burden. Member States should also publish the results of such assessments. 

(52)  The  Member  States  may  entrust  the  social  partners  with  the  implementation  of  this 
Directive,  where  the  social  partners  jointly  request  to  do  so  and  provided  that  the 
Member  States  take  all  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  that  they  can  at  all  times 
guarantee the results sought under this Directive. They should also, in accordance with 
national law and practice, take adequate measures to ensure that the social partners are 
effectively  involved  and  to  promote  and  enhance  social  dialogue  with  a  view  to 
implementing the provisions of this Directive. 

EN 

31 

  EN 

(53) 

In accordance with  the Joint Political  Declaration of 28 September 2011  of Member 
States  and  the  Commission  on  explanatory  documents,15  Member  States  have 
undertaken  to  accompany,  in  justified  cases,  the  notification  of  their  transposition 
measures  with  one  or  more  documents  explaining  the  relationship  between  the 
components  of  a  directive  and  the  corresponding  parts  of  national  transposition 
instruments. With regard to this Directive, the legislator considers the transmission of 
such documents to be justified. 

(54)  The  European  Data  Protection  Supervisor  was  consulted  in  accordance  with  Article 
42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council16 
and delivered an opinion on XX XXXX17, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

CHAPTER I  

GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 

Subject matter and scope 

1. 

2. 

The  purpose  of  this  Directive  is  to  improve  the  working  conditions  of  persons 
performing  platform  work  by  ensuring  correct  determination  of  their  employment 
status,  by  promoting  transparency,  fairness  and  accountability  in  algorithmic 
management  in  platform  work  and  by  improving  transparency  in  platform  work, 
including  in  cross-border  situations,  while  supporting  the  conditions  for  the 
sustainable growth of digital labour platforms in the Union. 

This  Directive  lays  down  minimum  rights  that  apply  to  every  person  performing 
platform work in the Union who has, or who based on an assessment of facts may be 
deemed to have, an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by 
the  law,  collective  agreements  or  practice  in  force  in  the  Member  States  with 
consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice.  

In  accordance  with  Article  10,  rights  laid  down  in  this  Directive  pertaining  to  the 
protection  of  natural  persons  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  in  the 
context of algorithmic management also apply to every  person performing platform 
work  in  the  Union  who  does  not  have  an  employment  contract  or  employment 
relationship. 

3.  

This  Directive  applies  to  digital  labour  platforms  organising  platform  work 
performed in the Union, irrespective of their place of establishment and irrespective 
of the law otherwise applicable. 

15 
16 

17 

OJ C 369, 17.12.2011, p. 14. 
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the  processing of personal data by the Union institutions, 
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39). 
… 

EN 

32 

  EN 

 
                                                 
1. 

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply: 

Article 2 

Definitions 

(1) 

‘digital  labour  platform’  means  any  natural  or  legal  person  providing  a 
commercial service which meets all of the following requirements: 

(a) 

it  is  provided,  at  least  in  part,  at  a  distance  through  electronic  means, 
such as a website or a mobile application;  

(b) 

it is provided at the request of a recipient of the service;  

(c) 

it  involves,  as  a  necessary  and  essential  component,  the  organisation  of 
work  performed  by  individuals,  irrespective  of  whether  that  work  is 
performed online or in a certain location; 

‘platform  work’  means  any  work  organised  through  a  digital  labour  platform 
and  performed  in  the  Union  by  an  individual  on  the  basis  of  a  contractual 
relationship between the digital labour platform and the individual, irrespective 
of  whether  a  contractual  relationship  exists  between  the  individual  and  the 
recipient of the service; 

‘person performing platform work’ means any individual performing platform 
work,  irrespective  of  the  contractual  designation  of  the  relationship  between 
that individual and the digital labour platform by the parties involved;  

‘platform  worker’  means  any  person  performing  platform  work  who  has  an 
employment  contract  or  employment  relationship  as  defined  by  the  law, 
collective  agreements  or  practice  in  force  in  the  Member  States  with 
consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice; 

‘representatives’ means the workers’ organisations or representatives provided 
for by national law or practices, or both; 

‘micro,  small  or  medium-sized  enterprises’  means  micro,  small  and  medium-
sized  enterprises  as  defined  in  the  Annex  to  Commission  Recommendation 
2003/361/EC18. 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

2.  

The definition of digital  labour platforms laid down in paragraph 1, point (1), shall 
not include providers of a service whose primary purpose is to exploit or share assets. 
It  shall  be  limited  to  providers  of  a  service  for  which  the  organisation  of  work 
performed  by  the  individual  constitutes  not  merely  a  minor  and  purely  ancillary 
component. 

CHAPTER II  

EMPLOYMENT STATUS 

Article 3 

Correct determination of the employment status 

18 

Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-
sized enterprises (C(2003) 1422) (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36). 

EN 

33 

  EN 

                                                 
1.  

2.  

1.  

Member  States  shall  have  appropriate  procedures  in  place  to  verify  and  ensure  the 
correct  determination  of  the  employment  status  of  persons  performing  platform 
work,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  existence  of  an  employment  relationship  as 
defined by the law, collective agreements or practice in force in  the Member States 
with  consideration  to  the  case-law  of  the  Court  of  Justice,  and  ensuring  that  they 
enjoy the rights deriving from Union law applicable to workers. 

The  determination  of  the  existence  of  an  employment  relationship  shall  be  guided 
primarily by the facts relating to the actual performance of work, taking into account 
the  use  of  algorithms  in  the  organisation  of  platform  work,  irrespective  of  how  the 
relationship is classified in any contractual arrangement that may have been agreed 
between the parties involved. Where the existence of an employment relationship is 
established based on facts, the party assuming the obligations of the employer shall 
be clearly identified in accordance with national legal systems.  

Article 4 

Legal presumption 

The  contractual  relationship  between  a  digital  labour  platform  that  controls,  within 
the  meaning  of  paragraph  2,  the  performance  of  work  and  a  person  performing 
platform work through that platform shall be legally presumed to be an employment 
relationship. To that effect, Member States shall establish a framework of measures, 
in accordance with their national legal and judicial systems. 

The  legal  presumption  shall  apply  in  all  relevant  administrative  and  legal 
proceedings. Competent authorities verifying compliance with or enforcing relevant 
legislation shall be able to rely on that presumption. 

2.  

Controlling  the  performance  of  work  within  the  meaning  of  paragraph  1  shall  be 
understood as fulfilling at least two of the following: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

 effectively determining, or setting upper limits for the level of remuneration;  

requiring the person performing platform work to respect specific binding rules 
with  regard  to  appearance,  conduct  towards  the  recipient  of  the  service  or 
performance of the work;  

supervising the performance of work or  verifying the quality of the results of 
the work including by electronic means; 

effectively  restricting  the  freedom,  including  through  sanctions,  to  organise 
one’s  work,  in  particular  the  discretion  to  choose  one’s  working  hours  or 
periods  of  absence,  to  accept  or  to  refuse  tasks  or  to  use  subcontractors  or 
substitutes;  

(e) 

effectively restricting the possibility to build a client base or to perform work 
for any third party. 

3.  

Member States shall take supporting measures to ensure the effective implementation 
of  the  legal  presumption  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  while  taking  into  account  the 
impact on start-ups, avoiding capturing the genuine self-employed and supporting the 
sustainable growth of digital labour platforms. In particular they shall: 

(a) 

 ensure  that  information  on  the  application  of  the  legal  presumption  is  made 
publicly available in a clear, comprehensive and easily accessible way; 

EN 

34 

  EN 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

 develop  guidance  for  digital  labour  platforms,  persons  performing  platform 
work  and  social  partners  to  understand  and  implement  the  legal  presumption 
including on the procedures for rebutting it in accordance with Article 5; 

 develop guidance for enforcement authorities to proactively target and pursue 
non-compliant digital labour platforms; 

 strengthen the controls and field inspections conducted by labour inspectorates 
or the bodies responsible for the enforcement of labour law, while ensuring that 
such controls and inspections are proportionate and non-discriminatory. 

4.  

With regard to contractual relationships entered into before and still ongoing on the 
date set out  in  Article 21(1), the  legal presumption referred to in  paragraph 1 shall 
only apply to the period starting from that date. 

Article 5 

Possibility to rebut the legal presumption 

Member States shall ensure the possibility for any of the parties to rebut the legal presumption 
referred to in Article 4 in legal or administrative proceedings or both.  

Where the digital labour platform argues that the contractual relationship in question is not an 
employment relationship as defined by the law, collective agreements or practice in force in 
the Member State in question, with consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice, the 
burden  of  proof  shall  be  on  the  digital  labour  platform.  Such  proceedings  shall  not  have 
suspensive effect on the application of the legal presumption. 

Where  the  person  performing  the  platform  work  argues  that  the  contractual  relationship  in 
question  is  not  an  employment  relationship  as  defined  by  the  law,  collective  agreements  or 
practice in  force in  the  Member State in  question, with  consideration to  the case-law of the 
Court of Justice, the digital labour platform shall be required to assist the proper resolution of 
the proceedings, notably by providing all relevant information held by it. 

CHAPTER III  

ALGORITHMIC MANAGEMENT 

Article 6 

Transparency on and use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems 

1.  

Without  prejudice  to  the  obligations  and  rights  of  digital  labour  platforms  and 
platform  workers  under  Directive  (EU)  2019/1152,  Member  States  shall  require 
digital labour platforms to inform platform workers of: 

(a) 

(b) 

automated  monitoring  systems  which  are  used  to  monitor,  supervise  or 
evaluate the work performance of platform workers through electronic means; 

automated  decision-making  systems  which  are  used  to  take  or  support 
decisions that significantly affect those platform workers’ working conditions, 
in particular their access to work assignments, their earnings, their occupational 
safety  and  health,  their  working  time,  their  promotion  and  their  contractual 
status, including the restriction, suspension or termination of their account.  

EN 

35 

  EN 

 
2.  

The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall concern: 

(a) 

as regards automated monitoring systems: 

(i) 

(ii) 

the  fact  that  such  systems  are  in  use  or  are  in  the  process  of  being 
introduced; 

the  categories  of  actions  monitored,  supervised  or  evaluated  by  such 
systems, including evaluation by the recipient of the service; 

(b) 

as regards automated decision-making systems: 

(i) 

the  fact  that  such  systems  are  in  use  or  are  in  the  process  of  being 
introduced; 

(ii) 

the categories of decisions that are taken or supported by such systems; 

(iii) 

(iv) 

the main parameters that such systems take into account and the relative 
importance of those main parameters in the automated decision-making, 
including  the  way  in  which  the  platform  worker’s  personal  data  or 
behaviour influence the decisions; 

the  grounds  for  decisions  to  restrict,  suspend  or  terminate  the  platform 
worker’s account, to refuse the remuneration for work performed by the 
platform  worker,  on  the  platform  worker’s  contractual  status  or  any 
decision with similar effects. 

Digital  labour platforms  shall provide the information referred to  in  paragraph 2 in 
the form of a document which may be in electronic format. They shall provide that 
information  at  the  latest  on  the  first  working  day,  as  well  as  in  the  event  of 
substantial  changes  and  at  any  time  upon  the  platform  workers’  request.  The 
information  shall  be  presented  in  a  concise,  transparent,  intelligible  and  easily 
accessible form, using clear and plain language. 

Digital  labour  platforms  shall  make  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraph  2 
available  to  platform  workers’  representatives  and  national  labour  authorities  upon 
their request. 

Digital  labour  platforms  shall  not  process  any  personal  data  concerning  platform 
workers  that  are  not  intrinsically  connected  to  and  strictly  necessary  for  the 
performance  of  the  contract  between  the  platform  worker  and  the  digital  labour 
platform. In particular they shall not: 

(a) 

process  any  personal  data  on  the  emotional  or  psychological  state  of  the 
platform worker;  

(b)  process any personal data relating to the health of the platform worker, except 
in  cases  referred  to  in  Article  9(2),  points  (b)  to  (j)  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679; 

(c) 

(d) 

process  any  personal  data  in  relation  to  private  conversations,  including 
exchanges with platform workers’ representatives;  

collect  any  personal  data  while  the  platform  worker  is  not  offering  or 
performing platform work. 

Article 7 

Human monitoring of automated systems 

3.  

4.  

5.  

EN 

36 

  EN 

1.  

2.  

3.  

1.  

2.  

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  digital  labour  platforms  regularly  monitor  and 
evaluate  the  impact  of  individual  decisions  taken  or  supported  by  automated 
monitoring and decision-making systems, as referred to in Article 6(1), on working 
conditions.  

Without prejudice to Council Directive 89/391/EEC and related directives in the field 
of safety and health at work, digital labour platforms shall: 

(a) 

evaluate the risks of automated monitoring and decision-making systems to the 
safety and health of platform workers, in particular as regards possible risks of 
work-related accidents, psychosocial and ergonomic risks; 

(b) 

assess  whether  the  safeguards  of  those  systems  are  appropriate  for  the  risks 
identified in view of the specific characteristics of the work environment;  

(c) 

introduce appropriate preventive and protective measures.  

  They  shall  not  use  automated  monitoring  and  decision-making  systems  in  any 
manner  that  puts  undue  pressure  on  platform  workers  or  otherwise  puts  at  risk  the 
physical and mental health of platform workers. 

Member  States  shall  require  digital  labour  platforms  to  ensure  sufficient  human 
resources  for  monitoring  the  impact  of  individual  decisions  taken  or  supported  by 
automated monitoring and decision-making systems in accordance with this Article. 
The persons charged by the digital labour platform with the function of monitoring 
shall have the necessary competence, training and authority to exercise that function. 
They  shall  enjoy  protection  from  dismissal,  disciplinary  measures  or  other  adverse 
treatment for overriding automated decisions or suggestions for decisions. 

Article 8 

Human review of significant decisions 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  platform  workers  have  the  right  to  obtain  an 
explanation from the digital labour platform for any decision taken or supported by 
an automated decision-making system that significantly affects the platform worker’s 
working  conditions,  as  referred  to  in  Article  6(1),  point  (b).  In  particular,  Member 
States shall ensure that digital labour platforms provide platform workers with access 
to a contact person designated by the digital labour platform to discuss and to clarify 
the  facts,  circumstances  and  reasons  having  led  to  the  decision.  Digital  labour 
platforms  shall  ensure  that  such  contact  persons  have  the  necessary  competence, 
training and authority to exercise that function. 

Digital labour platforms  shall provide the platform worker with a written statement 
of the reasons for any decision taken or supported by an automated decision-making 
system to restrict, suspend or terminate the platform worker’s account, any decision 
to refuse the remuneration for work performed by the platform worker, any decision 
on the platform worker’s contractual status or any decision with similar effects.  

Where  platform  workers  are  not  satisfied  with  the  explanation  or  the  written 
statement of reasons obtained or consider that the decision referred to in paragraph 1 
infringes their rights, they shall have the right to request the digital labour platform to 
review  that  decision.  The  digital  labour  platform  shall  respond  to  such  request  by 
providing the platform worker with a substantiated reply without undue delay and in 
any event within one week of receipt of the request. 

EN 

37 

  EN 

3.  

4.  

1.  

2.  

3.  

1.  

2.  

With  regard  to  digital  labour  platforms  which  are  micro,  small  or  medium-sized 
enterprises, Member States may provide that the deadline for reply referred to in the 
first subparagraph is extended to two weeks. 

Where the decision referred to in paragraph 1 infringes the platform worker’s rights, 
the  digital  labour  platform  shall  rectify  that  decision  without  delay  or,  where  such 
rectification is not possible, offer adequate compensation. 

This Article shall be without prejudice to dismissal procedures laid down in national 
law. 

Article 9 

Information and consultation 

Without prejudice to the rights and obligations under Directive 2002/14/EC, Member 
States shall ensure information and consultation of platform workers’ representatives 
or,  where  there  are  no  such  representatives,  of  the  platform  workers  concerned  by 
digital  labour  platforms,  on  decisions  likely  to  lead  to  the  introduction  of  or 
substantial changes in the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems 
referred to in Article 6(1), in accordance with this Article.  

For the purposes of this Article, the definitions of ‘information’ and ‘consultation’ as 
laid down in Article 2, points (f) and (g), of Directive 2002/14/EC shall apply. The 
rules  laid  down  in  Article  4(1),  (3)  and  (4),  Article  6  and  Article  7  of  Directive 
2002/14/EC shall apply accordingly. 

The  platform  workers’  representatives  or  the  platform  workers  concerned  may  be 
assisted  by  an  expert  of  their  choice,  in  so  far  as  this  is  necessary  for  them  to 
examine the matter that is the subject of information and consultation and formulate 
an opinion. Where a digital labour platform has more than 500 platform workers in a 
Member  State,  the  expenses  for  the  expert  shall  be  borne  by  the  digital  labour 
platform, provided that they are proportionate.  

Article 10 

Persons performing platform work who do not have an employment relationship  

Article 6, Article 7(1)  and  (3) and Article 8 shall also  apply to  persons  performing 
platform work who do not have an employment contract or employment relationship. 

This  Article  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1150.  If  the 
provisions of this Directive conflict with a provision of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 
in respect of business users within the meaning of that Regulation,  the provision of 
that Regulation shall prevail and shall apply to those business users. Article 8 of this 
Directive  shall  not  apply  to  business  users  within  the  meaning  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/1150. 

CHAPTER IV  

TRANSPARENCY ON PLATFORM WORK 

Article 11 

Declaration of platform work  

EN 

38 

  EN 

Without  prejudice  to  Regulations  (EC)  No  883/200419  and  987/200920  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council, Member States shall require digital labour platforms which are 
employers to declare work performed by platform workers to the competent labour and social 
protection  authorities  of  the  Member  State  in  which  the  work  is  performed  and  to  share 
relevant data with those authorities, in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in 
the law of the Member States concerned. 

1.  

2.  

3.  

4.  

Article 12 

Access to relevant information on platform work  

Where labour, social protection and other relevant authorities exercise their functions 
in ensuring compliance with legal obligations applicable to the employment status of 
persons  performing  platform  work  and  where  the  representatives  of  persons 
performing  platform  work  exercise  their  representative  functions,  Member  States 
shall ensure that digital labour platforms make the following information available to 
them: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  number  of  persons  performing  platform  work  through  the  digital  labour 
platform  concerned  on  a  regular  basis  and  their  contractual  or  employment 
status; 

the general terms and conditions applicable to those  contractual relationships, 
provided  that  those  terms  and  conditions  are  unilaterally  determined  by  the 
digital labour platform and apply to a large number of contractual relationships. 

The  information  shall  be  provided  for  each  Member  State  in  which  persons  are 
performing  platform  work  through  the  digital  labour  platform  concerned.  The 
information shall be updated at least every six months, and, as regards paragraph 1, 
point (b), each time the terms and conditions are modified. 

Labour,  social  protection  and  other  relevant  authorities  and  representatives  of 
persons performing platform work shall have the right to ask digital labour platforms 
for  additional  clarifications  and  details  regarding  any  of  the  data  provided.  The 
digital labour platforms  shall respond to such request within a reasonable  period of 
time by providing a substantiated reply. 

With  regard  to  digital  labour  platforms  which  are  micro,  small  or  medium-sized 
enterprises, Member States may provide that the periodicity for updating information 
in accordance with paragraph 2 is reduced to once every year. 

CHAPTER V  

REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT 

Article 13 

Right to redress  

19 

20 

Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the 
coordination of social security systems (OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 1). 
Regulation  (EC)  No  987/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  September  2009 
laying  down  the  procedure  for  implementing  Regulation  (EC)  No  883/2004  on  the  coordination  of 
social security systems (OJ L 284, 30.10.2009, p. 1). 

EN 

39 

  EN 

                                                 
Without prejudice to  Articles 79 and  82 of Regulation  (EU) 2016/679, Member States shall 
ensure  that  persons  performing  platform  work,  including  those  whose  employment  or  other 
contractual  relationship  has  ended,  have  access  to  effective  and  impartial  dispute  resolution 
and a right to redress, including adequate compensation, in the case of infringements of their 
rights arising from this Directive.  

Article 14 

1.  

Procedures on behalf or in support of persons performing platform work  

Without prejudice to  Article 80 of Regulation  (EU) 2016/679, Member States  shall 
ensure  that  representatives  of  persons  performing  platform  work  or  other  legal 
entities  which  have,  in  accordance  with  the  criteria  laid  down  by  national  law  or 
practice, a legitimate interest in defending the rights of persons performing platform 
work, may engage in any judicial or administrative procedure to enforce any of the 
rights or obligations arising from this Directive. They may act on behalf or in support 
of a person performing platform work in the case of an infringement of any right or 
obligation arising from this Directive, with that person’s approval. 

2.  

Representatives of persons performing platform work shall also have the right to act 
on  behalf  or  in  support  of  several  persons  performing  platform  work,  with  those 
persons’ approval. 

Article 15 

Communication channels for persons performing platform work   

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that digital labour platforms create 
the possibility for persons performing platform work to contact  and communicate with each 
other, and to  be contacted by representatives of  persons performing platform work, through 
the  digital  labour  platforms’  digital  infrastructure  or  similarly  effective  means,  while 
complying with the obligations under Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Member States shall require 
digital  labour  platforms  to  refrain  from  accessing  or  monitoring  those  contacts  and 
communications.  

Article 16 

Access to evidence  

1.  

2.  

Member States shall ensure that in proceedings concerning a claim regarding correct 
determination  of  the  employment  status  of  persons  performing  platform  work, 
national courts or competent authorities are able to order the digital labour platform 
to disclose any relevant evidence which lies in their control. 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  national  courts  have  the  power  to  order  the 
disclosure  of  evidence  containing  confidential  information  where  they  consider  it 
relevant  to  the  claim.  They  shall  ensure  that,  when  ordering  the  disclosure  of  such 
information, national courts have at their disposal effective measures to protect such 
information. 

3.  

This Article shall not prevent Member States from maintaining or introducing rules 
which are more favourable to persons performing platform work. 

EN 

40 

  EN 

Article 17 

Protection against adverse treatment or consequences  

Member States shall introduce the measures necessary to protect persons performing platform 
work, including those who are their representatives, from any adverse treatment by the digital 
labour platform and from any adverse consequences resulting from a complaint lodged with 
the  digital  labour  platform  or  resulting  from  any  proceedings  initiated  with  the  aim  of 
enforcing compliance with the rights provided for in this Directive. 

1.  

2.  

3.  

4.  

5.  

6.  

1.  

2. 

Article 18 

Protection from dismissal  

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  prohibit  the  dismissal  or  its 
equivalent and all preparations for dismissal or its equivalent of persons performing 
platform work, on the grounds that they have exercised the rights provided for in this 
Directive. 

Persons  performing  platform  work  who  consider  that  they  have  been  dismissed,  or 
have been subject to measures with equivalent effect, on the grounds that they have 
exercised  the  rights  provided  for  in  this  Directive,  may  request  the  digital  labour 
platform  to  provide  duly  substantiated  grounds  for  the  dismissal  or  the  equivalent 
measures. The digital labour platform shall provide those grounds in writing. 

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that,  when  persons 
performing platform work referred to in paragraph 2 establish, before a court or other 
competent  authority  or  body,  facts  from  which  it  may  be  presumed  that  there  has 
been  such  a  dismissal  or  equivalent  measures,  it  shall  be  for  the  digital  labour 
platform to  prove that the dismissal  or equivalent  measures were based on grounds 
other than those referred to in paragraph 1. 

Paragraph  3  shall  not  prevent  Member  States  from  introducing  rules  of  evidence 
which are more favourable to persons performing platform work. 

Member States shall not be required to apply paragraph 3 to proceedings in which it 
is  for  the  court  or  other  competent  authority  or  body  to  investigate  the  facts  of  the 
case. 

Paragraph  3  shall  not  apply  to  criminal  proceedings,  unless  otherwise  provided  by 
the Member State. 

Article 19 

Supervision and penalties  

The supervisory authority or authorities responsible for monitoring the application of 
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall also be responsible for monitoring the application of 
Article 6, Article 7(1) and (3) and Articles 8 and 10 of this Directive, in accordance 
with  the  relevant  provisions  in  Chapters  VI,  VII  and  VIII  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/679. They shall be competent to impose administrative fines up to the amount 
referred to in Article 83(5) of that Regulation.  

The authorities referred  to  in  paragraph 1 and national  labour  and social  protection 
authorities  shall,  where  relevant,  cooperate  in  the  enforcement  of  this  Directive, 
within the remit of their respective competences, in particular where questions on the 
impact of automated monitoring and decision-making systems on working conditions 

EN 

41 

  EN 

  
3.  

1.  

2.  

or  on  rights  of  persons  performing  platform  work  arise.  For  that  purpose,  those 
including 
authorities  shall  exchange  relevant 
information  obtained  in  the  context  of  inspections  or  investigations,  either  upon 
request or at their own initiative.  

information  with  each  other, 

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to  infringements  of 
national provisions adopted pursuant to provisions of this Directive other than those 
referred to  in  paragraph  1 or of the relevant  provisions already in  force concerning 
the  rights  which  are  within  the  scope  of  this  Directive.  The  penalties  provided  for 
shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. 

CHAPTER VI  

FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 20 

Non-regression and more favourable provisions  

This  Directive  shall  not  constitute  valid  grounds  for  reducing  the  general  level  of 
protection already afforded to workers within Member States. 

This  Directive  shall  not  affect  the  Member  States’  prerogative  to  apply  or  to 
introduce  laws,  regulations  or  administrative  provisions  which  are  more  favourable 
to  platform  workers,  or  to  encourage  or  permit  the  application  of  collective 
agreements  which  are  more  favourable  to  platform  workers,  in  line  with  the 
objectives  of  this  Directive.  As  regards  persons  performing  platform  work  who  are 
not  in  an  employment  relationship,  this  paragraph  shall  only  apply  insofar  as  such 
national rules are compatible with the rules on the functioning of the internal market. 

3. 

This  Directive  is  without  prejudice  to  any  other  rights  conferred  on  persons 
performing platform work by other legal acts of the Union. 

Article 21 

Transposition and implementation  

1.  

2. 

3.  

4.  

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [2 years after entry into force] 
at the latest. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. 

When  Member  States  adopt  those  provisions,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive  or  be  accompanied  by  such  a  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their  official 
publication.  The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by  Member 
States. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

Member  States  shall,  in  accordance  with  their  national  law  and  practice,  take 
adequate measures to ensure the effective involvement of the social partners and to 
promote and enhance social dialogue with a view to implementing this Directive. 

Member  States  may  entrust  the  social  partners  with  the  implementation  of  this 
Directive,  where  the  social  partners  jointly  request  to  do  so  and  provided  that 

EN 

42 

  EN 

Member States take all necessary steps to ensure that they can at all times guarantee 
the results sought under this Directive. 

Article 22 

Review by the Commission  

By [5 years after entry into force], the Commission shall, after consulting the Member States, 
the social partners at Union level and key stakeholders, and taking into account the impact on 
micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, review the implementation of this Directive and 
propose, where appropriate, legislative amendments. 

Article 23 

Entry into force  

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 24 

Addressees 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

43 

  EN