Outdated Enforcement? The Judicialization of Status Determination in the German and Norwegian Platform Economy

Johanne Stenseth Huseby · Kristin Jesnes · Fabian Beckmann · Fabian Hoose

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Legal and Labor Studies Labor Law and Work Dynamics Digital Economy and Work Transformation

Abstract

Abstract The spread of platform work has provoked academic and policy debates about appropriate ways to embed this form of work into national and supranational institutions of labour regulation. A major instrument of such regulation is the re-classification of platform workers’ employment status, aiming at giving workers access to collective labour rights. While debates have been focused on appropriate regulatory approaches and criteria for status determination, little emphasis has been placed on the practical enforcement of platform workers’ status determination – although enforcement gaps are documented for other non-standard forms of employment and traditional enforcement mechanisms through supervision by unions are largely lacking in the platform economy. Against this background, we use Germany and Norway, two coordinated market economies characterized by institutional cooperation between the state and the social partners, to analyse the institutions, actors and mechanisms for status determination in both countries. We ask what the challenges are in applying existing enforcement mechanisms for status determination to platform work and whether these mechanisms meet the needs of the workers in the platform economy. The analysis draws on qualitative interviews and document analysis, and reveals three major findings: first, despite institutional differences, both countries face substantial enforcement gaps as platform-based employment models often remain undetected. Second, enforcement authorities follow a rather reactive ‘wait-and-see approach’ and shift responsibility to the legislators. Third, these gaps shift enforcement issues from politics to the courts. We discuss the ambivalent implications of this ‘judicialization’ of labour regulation and outline challenges for future enforcement of platform work regulation.

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References

2018Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy 2022Negotiating limits on algorithmic management in digitalised services: cases from Germany and Norway 2022Work in the Gig-Economy: The Role of the State and Non-State Actors Ceding and Seizing Regulatory Space 2021The employment status of food delivery riders in Europe and the UK: Self-employed or worker?2022Digital Work Platforms at the Interface of Labour Law 2018Collective wage regulation in northern Europe under strain: Multiple drivers of change and differing responses 2025Fair Work for Platform Workers: Lessons from the EU Directive and Beyond 2024The EU Platform Work Directive: What’s New, What’s Missing, What’s Next?

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