Constitutional Values in the Gig-Economy? Why Labor Law Fails at Platform Work, and What Can We Do about It?

Abstract

Gig-work, or platform work, has been in the crosshairs of regulators since roughly the mid-2010s. The employment of an increasing number of platform workers raises a number of problems, however, there is no longer a consensus as to whether these problems are only the emergence of certain well-established labor law issues in a new guise, or completely new ones. To date, only one possible solution seems to have emerged, that of bringing platform work under the umbrella of labor law. This study argues, on the one hand, that platform work has a characteristic that was previously unknown in the world of labor relations (algorithmic and data-based work organization) and, on the other hand, that it has two other characteristics (tripartite structure and network effect) that create an entirely new quality that requires innovative legal approaches. The study selects some of the recent European Union standards regulating various kinds of online platforms which may also provide useful solutions for the regulation of platform work.