role in cracking down on tech companies
to ensure everything from workers’ rights to
online safety.
Platforms can challenge the classification, but
the burden will be on them to prove they are not
employers, the commission said.
“No one is trying to kill, to stop or to hamper this
growth of the platform economy,” EU Jobs and
Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit said
at a press briefing in Brussels. But “it comes down
to ensuring that these jobs are quality jobs. ...
We don’t want this new economy just giving low
quality or precarious jobs.”
The proposed EU rules are another blow for gig
economy companies in Europe. New laws or
recent court rulings in Spain, the Netherlands and
Britain require food delivery riders and ride-service
drivers to be given employee status rather than
classified as self-employed freelancers.
There have been more than 100 court decisions
across Europe on the issue, with most judges
ruling that independent contractors are
employees — something the commission took
into account as it drafted its directive.
In contrast, Uber and other app-based services
avoided an attempt in California to classify
workers as employees, though the battle
continues in the courts.
The European Commission also wants to force gig
work platforms to be more transparent about the
algorithms used to manage workers so they can
better understand how jobs are assigned and pay
is set. People should oversee the algorithms and
workers should be able to appeal any automated
decisions, it said.