What Impact Will the Proposed EU Directive on Platform Work Have on the Italian System?

Abstract

The European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions for platform work is probably the most discussed and scrutinized draft of a potential European Union legislative act ever. Here, the Directive is analysed from the perspective of the Italian system. We assess the concrete impact at the national level and determine whether Italian lawmakers need to issue new statutes to comply with the Directive and, if so, how the Directive should be implemented properly at the national level. Possible impacts on the law’s interpretations by judges/authorities are considered.
The analysis evaluates the Directive from the perspective of its effectiveness in reaching its main goal of “improving working conditions in platform work” in general and considering the Italian legal context in particular. This contribution focuses on Chapter II of the Directive on employment status.
Overall, the Directive could alter the traditional classification of working relationships and reinforce the EU embracement of a dichotomic approach, splitting the working relationships into employment and autonomous work. Thus, Italian legal interpreters should commit to connecting their interpretations to those of the Court of Justice of the European Union in all litigations concerning the correct classifications of working relationships. Moreover, lawmakers should avoid a situation in which some platform workers are classified as self-employed within the Italian system when they fall under the Directive’s employment presumption.