The new EU directive will change the labor market. End exploitation. “We want it accepted now”

is working on new legislation that will regulate the rules through online platforms. According to the European Commission, the revenue from the digital platform economy across the EU in 2020 was estimated at €20 billion. In the Union alone, there are over 500 digital job platforms and over 28 million people working via online platforms, and the number is constantly growing. It’s about, among others about food suppliers, taxi drivers, programmers or web creators.

The European Union wants a revolution on the labor market

The directive proposed by the EC contains a list of criteria to determine whether a given platform is an employer. It is estimated that between 1.7 million and 4.1 million people may be reclassified as employees after the new regulations come into force, which means that people working via online platforms will have access to e.g. to guaranteed rest time, paid holidays, benefits for unemployment, sickness and health care, and related to accidents at work and occupational diseases; parental leave, pension rights and, in certain cases, at least a national or sectoral minimum .

The Commission has pointed out that platform workers are almost always classified as self-employed, which most often means that they do not have access to job protection. Their income and conditions are often unpredictable and determined by algorithms over which employees have no control. In many cases, even if the relationship between the employee and the platform is to a large extent similar to an employment relationship, such a person performs work on the basis of a contract of mandate or contract for specific work.

Expert: The EU directive will be of fundamental importance for the entire labor law

– The consequences of the lack of legal regulations regarding the functioning of online platforms are associated with a very low standard of protection in the field of platform work. Employees are affected by the lack of employment stability, no minimum wage guarantee, low pay rates for performing individual tasks, lack of health and safety protection or lack of social protection. There are no transparent procedures for assigning tasks and organizing work, as well as for determining remuneration for work. There are also no appeal procedures – said Dr. Tomasz Duraj, head of the Center for Atypical Employment Relations at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Lodz in an interview with the website.

Many companies offering jobs through platforms have their headquarters outside Poland, which means that the National Labor Inspectorate cannot carry out inspections. Dr. Tomasz Duraj points out that the EU directive, if adopted, “will be of fundamental importance for the entire labor law”. – It is possible that in the future it will determine the entire model of labor and employment law, as well as the model of protection that will possibly be guaranteed to persons engaged in gainful employment. The latter aspect concerns issues related to the use of artificial intelligence algorithms in employment – he added.

– As trade unions, we want the directive to be implemented into Polish law right now. The need for these regulations stems from the cry of despair of hundreds of thousands of platform workers in Poland. Because if there is a job, there should also be an employment contract and that is our assumption. The pathology of the Polish employment system is wide, specific when it comes to platform workers; some companies believe that the basis for performing work is the conclusion of a bicycle rental agreement, assessed Dr. Liwiusz Laska, a lawyer dealing with labor law issues, an adviser to the National Alliance of Trade Unions in an interview with plushr.pl.