EMPL committee votes on Platform Work

On 12 December 2022, the Employment Committee of the European Parliament adopted a negotiating mandate on new rules to improve the working conditions in platform work.  

The rules apply to all digital labour platforms, irrespective of their place of establishment and provided that the work is performed in the EU. We consider that the scope improved, compared to the initial draft report. 

A person performing platform work can be either an employed worker, and enjoy related labour rights, or be genuinely self-employed and able to determine how to carry out the service. If this is the case, labour platforms shall be presumed as employers. There are no EU criteria to trigger the presumption for a self-employed to be considered an employee. For this reason, HOTREC considers that there is an automatic reclassification of self-employed into employees. This is a motive of concern for the hospitality sector, as we are already facing labour shortages. If self-employed lose their flexibility to work when they want, they might not be willing to work for platforms anymore. The hospitality sector might suffer, as the services usually performed by platforms (e.g. food deliveries) might lack. 

In the event of a dispute between the platform and a worker, the platform would have the responsibility to prove that they do not employ the worker. The rebuttal procedure will be based on non-mandatory criteria at both European and national levels. We consider that this brings legal uncertainty and a disruption of the application of the legislation at national level. As there is no suspensive effect of the legal presumption until the end of the rebuttal, there is again automatic reclassification of self-employed into employees, in our view. 

The Council still needs to reach a general approach.  

We count on the co-legislators to reach a balanced approach to the proposal during trilogues.