Political agreement on European law on platform work
Focus on determination of employment status and algorithmic management.
VS – 12/2023
On the
morning of 13 December, the negotiators from the European Parliament and the
Council reached a provisional agreement on a draft law to improve working
conditions in platform work. The aim of the draft law is to ensure the correct determination
of the employment status of platform workers. This is intended to ensure that
platform workers who were previously incorrectly classified as self-employed
are socially protected and that they are subject to the same occupational
health and safety rights as employees outside of digital work platforms. In
addition, a few days after the provisional agreement on the AI Act, binding
rules for algorithmic management and the use of artificial intelligence in the
workplace will be laid down for the first time.
Determination of employment status
In the original Commission
Draft, the actual employment status for the rebuttable presumption was to
be examined on the basis of five criteria. The presumption should then be
triggered if two of the five criteria are met. In its position, the Council
formulated seven criteria, three of which had to be fulfilled. However, the
Parliament has spoken out against EU-wide binding criteria, but has listed
eight non-exhaustive aspects. These must be taken into account in addition to the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), national regulations and legal provisions when determining employment status.
The agreement no longer
refers to criteria, but to five indicators based on the case law of the
European Court of Justice. The rebuttable presumption is triggered if at least
two indicators are present. The indicators do not lead to a direct reclassification,
but initiate a review. It was also agreed that the Member States can expand the
list of indicators.
The presumption can be
triggered by the platform worker, his or her representatives and the competent
authorities on their own initiative. This presumption can be rebutted if the
digital work platform proves that the contractual relationship is not an employment
contract.
Transparency
Currently, platform
workers do not have access to information on how the algorithms work and how
their behaviour affects the decisions made by the automated systems. With the
new regulations, the digital work platforms will make this information available
to employees and their representatives.
Algorithmic management and the use of artificial intelligence
The new
regulations will prohibit digital work platforms from making decisions such as
dismissals or blocking an account without human supervision. The provisional
agreement also provides for greater human oversight of the decisions of systems
that directly affect platform workers.
Furthermore, digital work
platforms will be required to assess the impact of decisions based on
automated monitoring and decision-making systems on working conditions, health
and safety and fundamental rights.
Personal data
According to the
provisional agreement, digital work platforms are prohibited from processing
certain personal data. This includes, for example, information on personal
beliefs or attendance at work. The digital work platforms are also to be
obliged to provide the competent national authorities and the representatives
of the platform workers with information on the self-employed persons they
employ.
What happens next
The provisional agreement
must now be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. After
the official announcement, the Member States will then have two years to
transpose it into national law.