Labour Law

Abstract

The collaborative economy not only blurs the distinction between a consumer and a professional but also the most classical dichotomy between an employer and an employee, hence rarefying the impact of labour law over workers’ protection. Indeed, if one works in his/her own spare time, with no subordination whatsoever, on a casual or an on-demand basis, how can this pattern possibly fit within the frame of genuine employment relations? Furthermore, can online platforms be assimilated to a classical employer exercising a typical command and control chain over their employees? This Chapter seeks to answer these questions, starting from the premise that non-standard work is more and more widespread, while, in a collaborative economy scenario, the problem of false self-employment is more and more acute. Thus, it is argued that, by using rate-and-review (R&R) mechanisms, collaborative platforms have succeeded in externalizing command and control to users. Looking at European Union (EU) labour law, the impact of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) is first discussed, then the potential applicability of the Working Time Directive and of the Atypical Workers Directives is tested. An overview of national experiences in the UK, France and Italy is presented to demonstrate that domestic courts have a different understanding of the conditions pointing to genuine employment relations. Finally, the recently adopted European Social Pillar (ESP) is discussed to ascertain whether it can bring clarity to the broad domain of employment in the collaborative economy.