On 8 December, the Czech Presidency of the EU Council will seek a general approach over the Digital Platform Workers Directive. It will convene Member States during November to prepare for this agreement, with a further meeting of the EU Council working group scheduled to take place on 15 November.
According to some sources, the Presidency text, which was amended in a new compromise submitted on 28 October, may not be subject to any further substantive changes since a level of equilibrium has already been found and a majority seems to have been reached on the limited criteria for triggering the presumption of employment.
In its latest compromise, the Czech Presidency did not go back on the tightening of these criteria; in a previous compromise, it had proposed that the worker should meet 3 out of 7 criteria, as opposed to 2 out of 5 as stated in the European Commission's initial proposal (see EUROPE 13042/16).
However, a further clarification has since been made, stating that where a digital work platform meets one of the criteria set out in the Directive solely by virtue of its compliance with a national legal obligation, or under Union law, then that criterion is not considered to have been met under the Directive.
While no major substantive change has been added, the recitals have been substantially strengthened, specifically to clarify automated decisions and management by algorithm, thereby legitimising monitoring of personal data relating to those who work on platforms and have no real choice but to accept this mode of data processing.
The Presidency has reorganised some articles and strengthened the principle that the platforms may not process certain data, such as data relating to the worker’s psychological state or private conversations when performing their work.
The notion of subcontractors has also been added to the definitions of platform work, in addition to intermediaries. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)