The intersection of casual work and platform work: Lessons learned from the casual work agenda for the labour protection of platform workers

Abstract

In recent years, the advent of platform work, i.e. work activities channelled through web platforms or apps, has been at the centre of discussions for being ‘an opportunity-generating machine’, and its darker side, that is the poor quality of working conditions associated with it, has also been discussed. Work patterns inherent in platform work, such as unpredictable work schedules and work insecurity (even for the next minute or hour), the lack of a stable income, and exclusion from even basic protections, have long been detected. They can be traced back in the daily work of dock workers in the late nineteenth century, but also in more contemporary forms of casual work, such as on-call work or zero-hours work. Accordingly, history seems to repeat itself, and even go to extremes with platform work. Against this background, this article focuses on the intersection of casual work and platform work, and explains that as a result of it, platform work can actually fall within the scope of broader regulatory strategies applicable to casual work, hereinafter the casual work agenda. The regulatory challenges deriving from the insecure nature of the work have already been dealt with by national and supranational regulators in the context of casual work. This article evaluates an already-available blueprint - the casual work agenda - in light of reducing the working hours, job (work), income, and employment status insecurity associated with platform work. To this end, it observes that a rich legal landscape exists in the Netherlands for addressing these insecurities. At the EU level, there are also insightful legal tools, prominent examples being the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive, the Fixed-Term Work Directive, and the Working Time Directive. They provide for important legal safeguards, especially in countering working time and job insecurity. This article also looks at the proposed EU Directive on Platform Work and notes that it overlooks the legal safeguards contained in these instruments. Having regard to this, it calls on EU policymakers to redefine this legal initiative in light of the best regulatory practices offered by the casual work agenda.

A comparative assessment of digital platform worker protection in the EU and ASEAN

“…Unpaid waiting time is another shared concern, as platform workers in both regions spend considerable hours waiting for tasks without earning income (Durri, 2023). This issue is particularly pronounced in the case of low-skilled location-based tasks.…”

“…Several EU member states have indeed enacted legislation pertaining to the realm of digital platform employment (Aloisi, 2022;Durri, 2023;Sanz de Miguel et al, 2021;Sieker, 2022). However, these regulations are typically characterized by their limited scope, primarily targeting specific categories of platform work, such as ride-sharing services or food delivery applications (Aloisi, 2022).…”

Mapping social protection coverage for platform workers: A comparative analysis of Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands

“…Nevertheless, while this instrument can serve as an important tool to increase legal certainty, it does not contain provisions on how to ensure adequate social protection for (employed and/or self-employed) platform workers (see also the discussion in Barrio (2023), Hooker and Antonucci (2022) and Spasova and Marenco (2023)). Little is known about how the transition from self-employment or even undeclared work to ‘employee status’ would guarantee platform workers adequate social protection within the social protection scheme for employees.…”