Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 412 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in May 2025 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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The database currently contains 412 entries and was last updated in May 2025.
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United Kingdom
The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) applied to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for recognition as the collective bargaining representative for Deliveroo drivers in the Camden Zone, London, regarding pay, hours, and holidays. For the application to succeed, the CAC first had to determine if the Deliveroo riders were "workers" under Section 296 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA).
Deliveroo opposed the application, arguing that its drivers were not workers under the legal definition, but self-employed contractors ("suppliers"), and thus, the union's application for recognition was not applicable.
The hearing was held in London over four days on 23, 24 and 25 May and 26 June 2017. Deliveroo was represented by the UK and Ireland Operations Director, by four Deliveroo riders and by one User Research Team member. The Union was represented by Mags Dewhurs (Union member and Chair of the couriers and logistics branch) and a Deliveroo Rider and IWGB member.
The CAC decided that Riders are not workers within the statutory definition of either s.296 TULR(C)A or s230(3)(b) Employment Rights Act 1996. For this reason, the Union's claim for recognition and for the right to negotiate with Deliveroo on pay, hours, and holidays, was denied.
The court ruled against the union's application for recognition for the following reasons:
Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) v. RooFoods Ltd. T/A Deliveroo - TUR1/985(2016)
The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising.
Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work?
The rapid rise of the platform economy has led to a marked transformation of European labour markets, and existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives have yet to catch up. While platform work offers opportunities for workers and employers and potentially contributes to innovation, economic growth and competitiveness in the EU, it has been criticised from the beginning because of the poor employment and working conditions often experienced by workers.
While 2020 may come to be seen as the year platform work gathered pace and started to go mainstream – thanks in large part to COVID-19 containment measures sparking an increase in food and grocery delivery – 2021 could be the year that regulation of platform work is set in motion.
