Platform work rulebook hangs by thread ahead of member states’ final nod

Negotiators from the European Commission, Council and Parliament struck a deal on the Platform Work Directive – for the second time – on Thursday (8 February), with all eyes now on member states, who have been asked to rubberstamp it next Friday.

The platform work directive seeks to ensure workers of digital platforms such as Deliveroo and Uber have the correct contractual status based on their treatment and working conditions. The legislation also sets new ambitious provisions on algorithmic management in the workplace.

This is the second time the EU institutions have settled on a provisional agreement in three-way negotiations, known as trilogues.

The first iteration of a deal in mid-December was shot down by member states, claiming it had strayed too far from the Council of the EU’s version of the directive. It is far from certain Thursday’s deal will get the last significant nod it needs for the directive to become a reality.

The Belgium Presidency went into trilogues with no evident approval from member states, with France having already shared its concerns on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s negotiations.

Under a qualified majority voting (QMV) system, a file is adopted in Council when at least 55% of member states, representing at least 65% of the total EU population, vote in favour.

In an unexpected turn of events, the deal was announced on Thursday morning and then quickly suspended for another half-hour as negotiators appeared to be presented with new Council text changes after negotiators had given their nod on the recitals – a non-legally binding chapter which lays out the objectives of the legislation.

Belgium Presidency hopes for 11th-hour deal with watered-down platform work directive

Following failed interinstitutional negotiations over the platform work directive last week, the Belgium Presidency circulated yet another draft text, which significantly waters down the file’s flagship chapter on the legal presumption of employment.

Minor changes

The substance of the text has changed radically in the past two months, with hopes it would alleviate France’s concerns.

As it stands, the algorithmic management in the workplace chapter, which seeks to protect workers from automatic algorithmic decision-making, is identical to the December deal, but the legal presumption has been watered down considerably.

The presumption is a novel mechanism looking to harmonise ways through which member states allow for the reclassification of platform workers from self-employed to fully employed, when evidence shows there is subordination between the worker and the platform.

For a long while, the presumption included clearly laid-out criteria, each of which hinted at subordination. If the platform worker met a certain number of these criteria, then the presumption could be triggered.

The trilogue deal does away with criteria altogether, in line with a draft text circulated last week by the Belgium Presidency, and seen by Euractiv. However, the text requires that an “effective legal presumption” be created in all member states.

The Parliament insisted on Thursday that a new clause be included whereby the European Commission would ensure legal presumptions have indeed been put in place in national systems.

It also deletes any reference to the ‘French derogation’, which would significantly curb the legal presumption’s application in favour of national law.

Wording was also tweaked at the margins to clarify that the presumption could not be applied to tax, criminal or social security proceedings – to accommodate for different definitions of a worker from one type of law to another.

A debrief will take place at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Friday (9 February) – a vote is expected to be held next Friday (16 February).

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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