On Tuesday 19 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs approved (37 votes in favour, 3 against and no abstentions) the agreement on the platform work directive reached with the EU Council on 8 February.
The Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs also supported it on 11 March in Brussels (see EUROPE 13363/17, 13368/1).
The directive, which will have to be approved in plenary on 24 April, and then formally by the Council of the EU in any configuration (although it may not vote until the second half of 2024, according to some sources), is intended to correct the misclassification of workers as self-employed and create a legal presumption of salaried status in each Member State, which platforms will be able to challenge (the burden of proof will rest with them).
Member States will establish the facts that indicate control and direction of the worker, in accordance with national law and collective agreements in force and taking account of EU law.
A platform worker may not be dismissed on the basis of a decision taken by an algorithm or an automated decision-making system. Platforms will have to provide human oversight of important decisions.
France and Germany were the only two countries to oppose the agreement on 11 March, although Paris signalled its openness to joining the deal at a later stage subject to further clarification.
Link to the agreement: https://aeur.eu/f/beb (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)