Workers in the gig economy: employees or self-employed? - A comparative study on the concept of employment in the “gig economy”, focusing on Sweden and the United Kingdom
Author
Summary, in English
The purpose of this thesis is to provide an overview of the new, but rapidly growing, concept of crowdsourcing. The basis of the concept can be described as the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call. In the last couple of decades, the market has exploded with companies that market themselves as platforms that enable crowdsourcing, among which Uber might be the most famous one. People who join Uber or other crowdsourcing companies do so as independent contractors or self-employed workers in the hope of earning money.
The problem arising in this situation is that many of these companies are more than just platforms that enable crowdsourcing. They become a third party of the contractual relationship between the consumer and the performing party. The platforms often has a great deal of influence over the implementation of the services offered through the platform and the remuneration that expires. The contractual relationship formed deviates from what is considered normal regarding independent contractors or self-employed works, whom often have a greater deal of autonomy. An additional purpose of this paper is thus to investigate the possibility of apply the concept of employment to the relationships occurring in chosen gig-economy platforms and asses the possibility for a performing party to be considered an employee. Are the people performing work in these companies really self-employed and independent workers or is the term abused to circumvent legislation and collective agreements?
The results from this thesis shows signs both for and against this question. In the Swedish legislation, the notion of ‘employee’ is very broad and shows great adaptability. The question is how protection should be regulated for those who are actually considered self-employed, though with a greater dependence on the crowdsourcing companies. The protection following the labour law is generally under the presumption that the object of protection is an employee. With an increase in self-employed workers and independent contractors, there is also an increase in risk for these performing parties. The result of the paper further shows that the adaptability of the notion of ’employee’ should perhaps not be the area on which to focus. On the contrary, focus should also be put on identifying the employer’s function, spreading the risk between the parties and by other means adapting the market in accordance with new and exciting developments.
The problem arising in this situation is that many of these companies are more than just platforms that enable crowdsourcing. They become a third party of the contractual relationship between the consumer and the performing party. The platforms often has a great deal of influence over the implementation of the services offered through the platform and the remuneration that expires. The contractual relationship formed deviates from what is considered normal regarding independent contractors or self-employed works, whom often have a greater deal of autonomy. An additional purpose of this paper is thus to investigate the possibility of apply the concept of employment to the relationships occurring in chosen gig-economy platforms and asses the possibility for a performing party to be considered an employee. Are the people performing work in these companies really self-employed and independent workers or is the term abused to circumvent legislation and collective agreements?
The results from this thesis shows signs both for and against this question. In the Swedish legislation, the notion of ‘employee’ is very broad and shows great adaptability. The question is how protection should be regulated for those who are actually considered self-employed, though with a greater dependence on the crowdsourcing companies. The protection following the labour law is generally under the presumption that the object of protection is an employee. With an increase in self-employed workers and independent contractors, there is also an increase in risk for these performing parties. The result of the paper further shows that the adaptability of the notion of ’employee’ should perhaps not be the area on which to focus. On the contrary, focus should also be put on identifying the employer’s function, spreading the risk between the parties and by other means adapting the market in accordance with new and exciting developments.
Department/s
Publishing year
2017
Language
English
Full text
Document type
Student publication for Master's degree (two years)
Topic
- Law and Political Science
Keywords
- Sharing economy
- crowdsourcing
- Gig economy
- concept of employment
- employee
- self-employed
Supervisor
- Vincenzo Pietrogiovanni (Postdoktor)