Requalification of Platform Workers as Employees

Extract

[...] To what extent does the Uberization of work challenge the traditional notion of employee in labor law? The Quality of Employee Confronted with the Uberization of Work The Uberization of work, a phenomenon in full bloom, illustrates the profound transformations that the job market is undergoing in the digital era. In this context, the traditional model of salaried work, based on clearly defined subordinate relationships and robust legal protections, is being challenged. Historically, salaried work has been built around principles such as job security, social rights, and the subordinate relationship, thus defining a balanced relationship between employer and employee. [...]

[...] For example, in a decision of 7 April 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal did not accept the requalification of the contract of services of a DELIVEROO delivery driver as a contract of employment. In addition, employees are entitled to health insurance and retirement benefits, pursuant to Article L.311-1 of the Social Security Code, which automatically affiliates them to the general regime of social security. In comparison, platform workers, often referred to as self-employed workers, must voluntarily contribute to private regimes to obtain similar coverage (L311-6). [...]

[...] However, this argument raises difficulties regarding the legal qualification of the link between the platform and the worker. The absence of direct subordinate link complicates the situation. However, in the case of Uber France of 4 March 2020, the Court of Cassation recognized that the absence of subordination does not mean the absence of a legal link, raising questions about shared responsibility between the platform and the worker. This phenomenon of uberization and the rise of self-employed workers illustrate a marked evolution towards precarious work, where protections granted to employees are largely absent. [...]

[...] And how can labor law evolve to ensure adequate protection for workers in this new landscape? Thus, to what extent does the uberization of work challenge the traditional notion of salaried worker in labor law? If the uberization of work challenges the classical notion of salaried work a reconciliation between uberization and labor law appears necessary (II). The proven undermining of the notion classique of salaried work in the face of the uberization of work The phenomenon of uberization generates a distancing from traditional criteria for the qualification of salaried work with the appearance of new modes of organization of work A certain distancing from traditional criteria for the qualification of salaried work The uberization of work, a phenomenon marked by the use of digital platforms, deeply questions the criterion of the link of subordination. [...]

[...] For example, the the LOM law (The 2019 Orientation of Mobilities Law in France introduced measures to regulate the work of platforms in terms of safety and social protection. Economist Robert Boyer had developed the principle of flexisecurity to compensate for the increase in flexibility in work with a safety net. One of the flagship proposals in this context is the creation of a intermediate status for platform workers. This status could include elements of social protection while preserving a certain independence in the organization of work. In parallel, it is imperative to preserve the fundamental rights of platform workers. [...]