The EU Commission has proposed a new law on digital labour platforms. Here's what you need to know:

1. The new directive says that anyone sourcing work through digital labour platforms should be legally presumed to be in an employment relationship unless this is proved otherwise.

This means: The digital labour platforms will be responsible for showing that workers are truly self-employed. If self-employment isn't proved, these workers will be seen - under the law - as employees who are entitled to the rights of an employment relationship.

2. This proposed legislation comes in the form of an EU Directive.

This means: The law will set out goals that member countries have to achieve. It's down to each member country to draft their own national law on this topic. These will have to be within the boundaries of the Directive, but each may contain variations.

3. The EU is acting on this with certain priority because a few EU countries - for example, Portugal and Spain - have already started to implement their own laws on platform working.

This means: Although this is a concept that has been discussed for a while, the EU has been forced to prioritise it to avoid fragmentation of the labour market across the bloc. But this is a proposal that already has backing from a significant number of MEPs.

4. If this affects your business - or may affect it in the future - now is the time to familiarise yourself with the proposed legislation.

This means: Read this European Commission press release to find out more.

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At Nazareth & Partners, we provide legal and compliance advice for professional employer organisations and staffing companies around the world. For advice about any point of cross-border employment law - whether in the EU or elsewhere - contact us, today.