Update on negotiations on Platform Workers Directive: Agreement reached

19 March 2024 2 min read

By Rachel Chapman

At a glance

Agreement unexpectedly reached on Platform Workers Directive (PWD).
Legal presumption of employment status for platform workers.
Regulation of automated monitoring and decision-making.
Once formally adopted, Member States will have two years to implement the directive.

In an update to our article of 26 February 2024, in an unexpected turn of events the EU ministers for employment and social affairs have announced that agreement has now been reached on the provisions of the Platform Work Directive.

The agreed text purports to strike a balance between respect for national labour systems, and ensuring that there are minimum standards of protection for persons working in digital labour platforms across the EU.

The main issues on which compromise has been reached revolve around the legal presumption for determining the correct employment status of persons working in digital platforms. The final agreed position is that:

Member States will establish a legal presumption of employment in their legal systems, to be triggered when facts indicating control and direction are found.
Those facts will be determined according to national law and collective agreements, while taking into account EU case-law.
Persons working in digital platforms, their representatives or national authorities may invoke the legal presumption and claim they are misclassified.
It is up to the digital platform to prove that there is no employment relationship.

Member States will provide guidance to digital platforms and national authorities about compliance with the new measures.

The directive also:

Provides for workers to be duly informed about the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems regarding their recruitment, working conditions and earnings, amongst other things.
Bans the use of automated monitoring or decision-making systems for the processing of certain types of personal data of persons performing platform work, such as biometric data or their emotional or psychological state.
Guarantees human oversight and evaluation as regards automated decisions, including the right to have those decisions explained and reviewed.

The text of the agreement will now be finalised and formally adopted. After the formal steps of the adoption have been completed, Member States will have two years to incorporate the provisions of the directive into their national legislation.

Keep track of future developments via our EU Directive tracker.