Activities of Elena LIZZI related to 2021/0414(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving working conditions in platform work
Amendments (20)
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Platform work can provide opportunities for accessing the labour market more easily, gaining additional income through a secondary activity or enjoying some flexibility in the organisation of working time. At the same time, platform work brings challenges, as it can blur the boundaries between employment relationship and self- employed activity, and the responsibilities of employers and workers. Misclassification of the employment status has consequences for the persons affected, as it is likely to restrict access to existing labour and social rights. It also leads to unfair competition, especially at the expense of micro-enterprises and SMEs and an uneven playing field with respect to businesses that classify their workers correctly, and it has implications for Member States’ industrial relations systems, their tax base and the coverage and sustainability of their social protection systems. While such challenges are broader than platform work, they are particularly acute and pressing in the platform economy.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Digital labour platforms differ from other online platforms in that they organise work performed by individuals at the request, one-off or repeated, of the recipient of a service provided by the platform. Organising work performed by individuals should imply at a minimum a significant role in matching the demand for the service with the supply of labour by an individual who has a contractual relationship with the digital labour platform and who is available to perform a specific task, and can include other activities such as processing payments. Online platforms which do not organise the work performed by individuals but merely provide the means by which service providers can reach the end-user, for instance by advertising offers or requests for services or aggregating and displaying available service providers in a specific area or connecting customers with service providers, without any further involvement in management tasks, should not be considered a digital labour platform. The definition of digital labour platforms should not include providers of a service whose primary purpose is to exploit or share assets, such as short-term rental of accommodation or those using platforms as a means of matching up supply and demand. It should be limited to providers of a service for which the organisation of work performed by the individual, such as transport of persons or goods or cleaning, constitutes a necessary and essential and not merely a minor and purely ancillary component.
Amendment 347 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) CGeneral principles making it possible to define at national level the criteria indicating that a digital labour platform controls the performance of work should be included in the Directive in order to make the legal presumption operational and facilitate the enforcement of workers’ rights. Those criteria should be inspired by Union and national case law and take into account national concepts of the employment relationship. The criteria should include concrete elements showing that the digital labour platform, for instance, determines in practice and not merely recommends the working conditions or the remuneration or both, gives instructions on how the work is to be performed or prevents the person performing platform work from developing business contacts with potential clients. In order for it to be effective in practice, two criteria should be always fulfilled to trigger the application of the presumption. At the same time, the criteria should not cover situations where the persons performing platform work are genuine self-employed. Genuine self-employed persons are themselves responsible vis-à-vis their customers for how they perform their work and the quality of their outputs. The freedom to choose working hours or periods of absence, to refuse tasks, to use subcontractors or substitutes or to work for any third party is characteristic of genuine self-employment. Therefore, de facto restricting such discretions by a number of conditions or through a system of sanctions, should also be considered as an element of controlling the performance of work. Closely supervising the performance of work or thoroughly verifying the quality of the results of that work, including through electronic means, which does not merely consist in using reviews or ratings by the recipients of the service, should also be considered as an element of controlling the performance of work. At the same time, digital labour platforms should be able to design their technical interfaces in a way to ensure good consumer experience. Measures or rules which are required by law or which are necessary to safeguard the health and safety of the recipients of the service should not be understood as controlling the performance of work.
Amendment 486 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – introductory part
(1) ‘digital labour platform’ means any natural or legal person providing a commercial service which meets all of the following requirements:
Amendment 497 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
(2) ‘platform work’ means any work organised and directed through a digital labour platform and performed in the Union by an individual on the basis of a contractual relationship between the digital labour platform and the individual, irrespective of whether a contractual relationship exists between the individual and the recipient of the service;
Amendment 537 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
2. The definition of digital labour platforms laid down in paragraph 1, point (1), shall not include providers of a service whose primary purpose is to exploit or share assets. It shall be limited to providers of a service for which the organisation of work performed by the individual constitutes not merely a minor and purely ancillary component but a key element in the employment relationship.
Amendment 559 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Social partners shall be encouraged to conclude collective agreements on platform working conditions in line with their national practices in the field of industrial relations and social dialogue. Where such collective agreements are in place and do not provide for the legal presumption, the latter shall not apply.
Amendment 602 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Controlling the performance of work within the meaning of paragraph 1 shall be understood as fulfilling at leastMember States shall establish criteria to define the effective monitoring of work done by a digital work platform at national level, in line with national provisions governing the employment relationship. When defining criteria, Member States bear in mind that controlling the performance of work within the meaning of paragraph 1 is characterised by effective limitation, enforced by penalties, of the freedom to organise work independently, in particular the freedom two of the following:choose working hours or periods of absence or to accept or refuse work.
Amendment 611 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 621 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 636 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point c
Amendment 643 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d
Amendment 656 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) effectively restricting the possibility to build a client base or to perform work for any third party in an exclusive relationship.
Amendment 736 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Member States shallmay ensure the possibility for any of the parties to rebut the legal presumption referred to in Article 4 in legal or administrative proceedings or both.
Amendment 746 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Where the digital labour platform argues that the contractual relationship in question is not an employment relationship as defined by the law of the Member State or equivalent provisions, collective agreements or practice in force in the Member State in question, with consideration to the case- law of the Court of Justice, the burden of proof shall be on the digital labour platform. Such legal and administrative proceedings shall not have suspensive effect on the application of the legal presumption.
Amendment 837 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Unless otherwise provided for in this Directive or in national law, the platform operator shall not be obliged to disclose information that would be considered a trade secret or confidential under the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or competition law.
Amendment 856 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
They shall not use automated monitoring and decision-making systems in any manner that puts undue pressure on platform workers or otherwise puts at risk the physical and mental health of platform workers. Undue pressure and risk must be understood as effects beyond those of similar work carried out without the use of an algorithm.
Amendment 884 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Where platform workers are not satisfied with the explanation or the written statement of reasons obtained or consider that the decision referred to in paragraph 1 infringes their rights, they shall have the right to request the digital labour platform to review that decision. The digital labour platform shall respond to such request by providing the platform worker with a substantiated reply without undue delay and in any event within one week of receipt of the requestthe time limits set by national legislation or, where national legislation does not set such time limits, by Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Amendment 979 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States shall undertake to protect and promote cooperative undertakings and small businesses by means of ad hoc regulatory measures to safeguard employment and ensure their capacity for development and growth.
Amendment 1004 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2
2. The authorities referred to in paragraph 1 and national labour and social protection authorities shall seek ways of carrying out annual inspections and, where relevant, cooperate in the enforcement of this Directive, within the remit of their respective competences, in particular where questions on the impact of automated monitoring and decision-making systems on working conditions or on rights of persons performing platform work arise. For that purpose, those authorities shall exchange relevant information with each other, including information obtained in the context of inspections or investigations, either upon request or at their own initiative and define the extent of sanctions for non-compliance.