BEERG Newsletter - Platform Economy: Free to strike at any time

This interesting article on the platform economy suggests that platform workers are not bound by the rules on strike action that apply to other workers because they are not really “striking” just boycotting one platform with which they have issues while continuing to work and earn from other platforms. This seems to undercut arguments that they are really employees, and not self-employed contractors but, as we report below, the courts think otherwise.

On March 24, 2023, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that Deliveroo riders in the Netherlands are employees despite having entered into services contracts as independent contractors with the company here. As we have noted before, while Brussels continues to debate the issue of the correct employment status of platform workers, courts across Europe are making decisions on the issue, with the majority of them coming down in favour of seeing such workers as employees.