Judicial creativity in the platform economy: normative insights for broadening the scope of labour law

Silvia Rainone and Christina Hiessl

Chapter 10 in The Elgar Companion to Regulating Platform Work, 2025, pp 171-189 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter provides an empirical analysis of national case law in the platform economy, and explores the extent to which creative judicial reasoning is paving the way for more inclusive normative paradigms governing the scope of labour law. Looking at cases concerning employment relationship, the chapter suggests that national courts often resort to legal arguments that go beyond the classical notion of subordination, signalling a broader understanding of the vulnerability in platform work. Further, the chapter identifies a growing number of cases dealing with the allocation of employer responsibilities in multi-party business structures – where the platform outsources the hiring of workers to intermediaries. While these rulings show a stronger attachment to classical, formalistic legal structures where the intermediary is recognised as the employer, in a number of cases, judges have found evidence of illegal labour brokering. These judgments are important precedents that lift the corporate veil erected by platforms to evade employer obligations.

Keywords: Case law; Platform economy; Food delivery platforms; Subordination; Employment relationship; Employer accountability; Business structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035321131
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