Improving the EU Platform Work Directive proposal

EU policy debates on platform work have centred on employment status and algorithmic control. In contrast, the existing literature and our emerging findings (GIGWELL project) offer important insights into the relationship of platform work to wider labour market insecurity, the financial burden placed on gig workers operating as self-employed contractors as well as the social protection exclusions workers face across different welfare models. This OSE Opinion paper discusses the limitations of the proposed EU Directive on Improving Working Conditions in Platform Work and considers how the emerging research evidence could be used to improve how the proposed EU legislation responds to gig workers’ social protection needs.