European Commission Plan to protect the people Unstable jobs in the gig economy may be Brussels’ most ambitious expansion of workers’ rights since the United Kingdom left the European Union.
If passed, these plans will mean gig economy companies such as Uber and takeout, Will have to treat workers as employees with minimum wage (if it exists), sick pay, vacation, and better accident insurance unless they can prove that drivers and couriers are truly self-employed.
Workers will also be better protected Algorithm management, Which means that they cannot be refused work or fired by machines whose codes are kept secret.
The British government will not participate in the formulation of these rules, nor does it have any obligation to apply them.After all, this is the point BrexitHowever, British policymakers and companies operating in the UK may find it difficult to avoid Brussels’ gravity.
EU law only applies to 450 million people in 27 member states, but its impact can be felt more widely as global companies adopt EU rules in their businesses to cut costs or avoid complexity.So-called Brussels effect It can be seen within the scope of EU data protection rules and chemical, automotive and food safety standards.
EU Employment Commissioner Nicolas Schmit (Nicolas Schmit) said that the latest gig economy plan may have the same effect. “The standard will not only affect the 27 member states and platforms operating in 27 member states, it may also become some kind of standard applicable to other countries and even other parts of the world,” he told the Guardian.
It may be too early to make such a judgment. An estimated 500 gig economy companies are active in the EU. They may respond to EU legislation in different ways, and EU legislation still needs to be agreed in months of complex negotiations between EU ministers and members of the European Parliament.
Some companies can choose to treat gig workers as employees like the Dutch company Just Eat, or follow the example of Danish cleaning company Hilfr, which provides employee status for employees who have worked on its platform for more than 100 hours. Others may seek to adjust their business model, or exit a country altogether if they think they cannot make a profit.
In the UK’s gig economy, companies have to respond to court rulings rather than new legislation.A landmark ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this year defined Uber Drivers, as workers, are entitled to minimum wages and holiday wages. The 1996 Employment Rights Act provides for the category of “workers”, which distinguishes them from employees and self-employed individuals.
George Maier, a gig economy expert at the London School of Economics, said the company had tried to take advantage of the ambiguities in the laws made for the pre-Internet era. “It feels that gig workers usually come from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds, and they have to bear the costs associated with fighting for basic rights in court. This shouldn’t happen.”
Boris Johnson was elected in 2019, and his declaration promised to introduce “measures to protect low-income jobs and the gig economy.” This idea was expanded in the Queen’s speech that year and promised to introduce an employment bill , “Protecting low-paying jobs and the gig economy”. And strengthen the rights of workers when the UK leaves the EU, making the UK the best place to work in the world.”
Nearly two years after that speech, the government has not announced any employment bills.
Although the pandemic has derailed many plans, there are also unresolved debates about the true meaning of Brexit. When trying to pass his EU withdrawal bill through the House of Commons in October 2019, the Prime Minister expressed his commitment to the “highest standards” of workers’ rights, stating that “whatever the EU proposes, we can match and pass this country’s laws.”
The emotion he expressed that day was far from shared by the entire government. In a little-known speech to the Policy Research Center last month, Brexit Secretary David Frost strongly supported a low-tax, loose-regulated economy unlike the EU. “If all we did after Brexit was to introduce European social models, we would not succeed,” he said.
After the pandemic exposed reliance on low-paid workers in nursing homes, supermarkets, delivery trucks and bicycles, the latest EU proposal will put pressure on the government to fulfill its promise of stronger employment rights.
Tim Sharp at the trade union conference said that the EU’s proposal “will undoubtedly help inform and inspire” unions in the UK. “This is a government that took office after Brexit, saying that they will protect and strengthen the rights of workers. I think if workers are European Union Being seen as gaining and possessing power, then the workers here will expect the same thing. “
A spokesperson for the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “The UK has one of the best records in the world in terms of workers’ rights-in many areas further than the EU-we believe that the current employment situation in the UK has gone on strike. The right balance between the flexibility that our economy requires and the protection of workers.”
