The rapid expansion of the digital economy has transformed the labor market, particularly through the rise of platform-based work. Despite the opportunities it brought into the lives of many workers, the digital economy has presented many challenges to the working conditions of platform workers. This policy brief examines regulatory approaches to protect platform workers across the world and synthesizes the approach to legislation and its scope in the key areas of labor regulations. It includes 23 regulatory reforms in 20 jurisdictions that took place from 2016 to 2024. Our analysis finds that governments take three approaches to regulating platform work: (a) amending the existing labor legislation to platform workers, (b) introducing stand-alone legislation specific to them, and (c) developing measures only to clarify their employment status and extend existing laws for platform workers. Among the countries examined, most of those that introduced regulatory initiatives are high-income countries. Geographically, they are mainly from Europe, North America, and Latin America. In addition, our review suggests that many of the reforms limit their focus to location-based platforms. When it comes to the scope of the legislation, provisions on data privacy, protection, and portability, freedom of association and collective bargaining, and protection against unfair dismissal are most frequently covered by special legislation for platform workers. Employment status determines if workers can access labor rights and social protection. Clarifying employment relationships is thus crucial to improving the working conditions of platform workers. Countries have chosen different approaches to clarify the employment status of these workers. These include (a) clarifying a list of criteria to define employment status, (b) creating a new third category of workers, (c) including the definition of platform workers in the existing category, and (d) introducing specific provisions for contracts. Given the complexity of determining employment relationship, courts still play a key role in determining the employment status in many countries. To improve pay for platform workers, enforcing the existing national minimum wage is the most common approach in setting wage regulations. Given the nature of platform-based work, some regulations include special provisions, such as rules on tips, payment processes, and compensation for work-related costs like equipment.
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- Citation
- “ Hatayama, Maho ; Maj-Swistak, Dagmara . 2024 . The Regulation of Platform-Based Work: Recent Regulatory Initiatives and Insights for Developing Countries . © Washington, DC: World Bank . http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42358 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO . ”
- Collection(s)
- Other papers
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1596/42358
- Identifier externaldocumentum
- 34400605
- Identifier internaldocumentum
- 34400605
- Pages
- 50
- Published in
- United States of America
- Report
- 193923
- Rights
- CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
- Rights Holder
- World Bank
- Rights URI
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo
- UNIT
- People - SP Global Engagement (HSPGE)
- URI
- https://hdl.handle.net/10986/42358
- date disclosure
- 2024-11-04
- region geographical
- World
- theme
- Active Labor Market Programs,Human Development and Gender,Skills Development,Labor Market Policy and Programs
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Table of Contents
- Executive Summary 6
- 1. Introduction 8
- 2. How are labor regulations adapted to protect platform-based work? 11
- 3.1. Classifying employment status for platform-based work 14
- 3.3. Special provisions to protect platform workers 28
- 3.2. Improving working conditions 19
- Wages/Remuneration 19
- Working time 22
- Protection against unfair dismissal and adverse treatment 24
- Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining 26
- 4. Enforcement and compliance 31
- 5. Conclusion 34
- References 37
- ANNEX 1: The list of countries examined 44
- ANNEX 2: Fundamental principles and rights at work 44
- ANNEX 3: Relevant international standards 45
- ANNEX 4: Number of laws/bills by types of platform workers and number of jurisdictions by scope of provisions 46
- ANNEX 5: Country examples for the definition of platform workers 47
- ANNEX 6: Terminology 48
- Table 1: Scope of provisions by area of regulations 13
- Table 2: Maximum working hours by country 24
- Table 3: Country examples - areas beyond traditional labor laws 29
- Figure 1: Common challenges faced by platform workers 9
- Figure 2: Types of approaches to regulate platform workers among countries examined 12
- Figure 3: Countries with regulatory reforms by region 12
- Figure 4: Number of reforms by year 12
- Figure 5: Scope of provisions related to employment relationship 15
- Figure 6: Scope of provisions related to decent wages for platform workers 20
- Figure 7: Additional aspects included in the wage regulations 21
- Figure 8: The definition of working hours 22
- Figure 9: Scope of provisions related to working hours 23
- Figure 10: Scope of regulations related to protection against unfair dismissal 25
- Figure 11: Scope of provisions related to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining 27
- Figure 12: Scope of regulations 28
- Figure 13: Challenges for enforcement of the labor law for platform workers 32
- Figure 14: Measures to increase compliance 32
- Figure 4.1: Number of laws/bills by types of platform workers 46
- Figure 4.2: Number of jurisdictions by scope of provisions 46
- Box 1: Methodology 10
- Box 2: The role of judicial rulings in defining the employment status of platform workers 17
- Box 3: Transport regulations for ride-hailing workers 18
- Box 4: Platform companies’ initiatives for decent pay 21
- Box 5: Soft-law initiatives pertaining to working time 23
- Box 6: Obstacles to unionizing and collectively negotiating 26
- Box 7: Collective actions in developing countries leading to better working conditions 28
- Box 8: Platform cooperative - innovation in platform business models 35
