It is expected that the proposed directive for improving working conditions in platform work will eventually be adopted. In its arguments why this directive is necessary, the European Commission mentioned, among other things, that numerous cases have been processed in courts of the EU member states concerning the employment status of platform workers and the majority of the cases resulted in reclassification of the individuals from self-employed to employed persons.4
Companies that are using services that are performed by self-employed individuals through digital platforms should follow this development closely and may wish to consider assessing if those individuals in their employ have correctly-assigned employment status.
It is reasonable to expect that, if adopted, this directive will contribute to more scrutiny around assessments of employment status generally.
Some critics say that the outcome of this directive, if adopted, will benefit the fiscal interest of those member states that have set taxes on service provision lower than employment.5 It has been suggested that the expected increase in reclassification of workers from self-employed to employed will increase revenue from taxes and social security contributions.
The EU Commission estimated in its impact assessment analysis that currently more than 5 million individuals working in the platform economy are wrongly classified as self-employed. Further, it indicated in the impact assessment that reclassification of platform workers from self-employed to employed could raise EUR 3.98 billion annually in tax and social security contributions.6