EMCC European Monitoring Centre on Change

On the 2nd of June 2018, a Guardian headline lauded BBC’s Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, for saving a Deliveroo bicycle courier from four attackers. The report of this (hopefully rare) event features into increasing media and policy attention for the development of various forms of work organised through platforms, such as Uber, Deliveroo, Upwork and others. Platform work is a new form of employment which is rapidly developing and takes many different forms.

Eurofound’s recently published working paper identifies these different types and advances a definition and typology of platform work that may be adopted in policy debate and research. The study interprets the most up-to-date findings from the literature and presents an overview of worker demographics; worker- and client motivations for participating in this form of work; an analysis of legal issues arising from platform work; some notable court rulings in regard to the employment status of workers; industrial action and initiatives organised by platform workers; and issues related to employment and working conditions.

• Forthcoming publication: Employment and working conditions of selected types of platform work and related working paper.