​Uber Europe’s chief executive says the app could launch in hundreds of cities and prices could rise by 40% if the EU passes the Platform Work Directive, which the Commission plans to improve working conditions for those working on various digital platforms. The directive will radically change the status of employees of various online platforms.

Uber and a stern warning for Europe

The debate is controversial because the change the EU wants is to recognize workers via digital platforms as employees rather than independent contractors responsible for their own social security and control over their income.

Anabel Dias, who heads Uber’s mobility platform in Europe, told the Financial Times that EU proposals for those working on such online platforms to be labeled as “de facto” employees will reduce the number of people offering services on those platforms. “We can expect a 50-70 percent drop in employment opportunities,” Diaz says, adding that if the directive goes into effect, Uber could shut down “a few hundred” of the 3,000 cities it currently operates in Europe.

In addition, such a law would increase the price of Uber rides by up to 40% in major cities, Diaz said. In addition, due to the fact that there will be fewer drivers, the waiting time for trips will increase significantly.

The European Commission has come up with a proposal for a directive on improving working conditions for working on platforms (European Commission,

The European Commission says that while employment law applies to digital platform workers who are employed, many digital platform workers are — at least formally — self-employed. Courts across the EU decide the professional status of workers through digital platforms on a case-by-case basis.

Member States have different approaches to working through digital platforms. National responses to work through digital platforms are varied and unevenly developed across Europe, and national legislation has been adopted particularly in certain sectors, such as private transport services and/or food delivery services.

What does the European Commission say about what will change after the new rules are adopted?

A proposal for a directive was presented by the European Commission in December 2021, and the Council adopted its position on the proposal on 12 June 2023.

The proposal introduces two key improvements for workers across platforms:

contribute to the formation of the correct professional status of people working on digital platforms

sets out the first EU rules on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace

Professional status

The proposed directive aims to facilitate the access of people working through digital work platforms to a legal professional status that corresponds to their actual working conditions.

It states that a person is considered an employee if they meet three of the seven criteria below.

The criteria set out in the proposal for a directive are as follows:

Digital work platform

determines the upper limit of the reward amount

requires a person to comply with certain rules regarding appearance, behavior in relation to the recipient of the service or performance of work

monitors the execution of works, including by means of electronic communication

limits the freedom to choose working hours or periods of absence

limits the freedom to accept or refuse assignments

restricts the freedom to use subcontractors or substitutes

limits the ability to build a client base or perform work for any third party

The application of the legal presumption leads to the obligation of the digital employment platform to demonstrate the absence of an employment relationship in the procedure where the correct professional status of the person working on the platform is concerned.

If it is determined in this manner that a person is in an employment relationship, he must enjoy the labor and social rights arising from this employment relationship. Depending on the national systems, these can be:

minimum wage

conducting collective negotiations

working hours and health care

paid leave

improved access to occupational accident protection

unemployment and sickness benefits

pension contributions