The EU platform work directive settles the doubt about whether the courier, the driver or the cleaner is self-employed or in reality an employee: it introduces a presumption of employment where the platform directs the work, and member states must translate the rules into national law. For the cleaning industry it means the model Hilfr chose voluntarily in 2018 is becoming the norm.
Here is what the directive says, why it is coming now — and what it means for you if you use digital platforms in everyday life.
Why is the directive coming?
Millions of Europeans work through digital platforms today — food delivery, transport, cleaning and much more. Many are registered as self-employed, even though the platform in practice controls their work down to the smallest detail: when they may work, what they are paid, and how they are rated.
The consequence is that many platform workers lack the safety net other employees take for granted: a minimum wage, pension, holidays, sickness benefit and protection against arbitrary dismissal. That is the grey zone the directive is designed to close.
What does the directive say?
The directive has two main tracks. The first concerns employment status: it must become easier to determine whether a platform worker is in fact an employee — and therefore entitled to employee rights. If the platform directs the work like an employer, it must also take responsibility like one.
The second track concerns algorithmic management. Platform workers must be given insight into how algorithms assign tasks, set prices and rate their work. And the Danish Ministry of Employment (Beskæftigelsesministeriet) highlights a striking principle: an algorithm may not, on its own, dismiss a platform worker — a human being must be involved in significant decisions.
What does it mean in Denmark?
In Denmark, pay and working conditions are traditionally regulated through collective agreements between unions and employers — not through legislation. That is why the Danish implementation is being watched closely by both the trade union movement and the platform companies: the goal is to close the grey zone without undermining the Danish labour-market model.
Interestingly, the answer already exists here at home. Denmark has shown that platforms and collective agreements can be combined — and the example most often cited, both in Denmark and in the EU, is Hilfr's agreement with the trade union 3F.
Hilfr chose employment — years before it became a requirement
When Hilfr signed Denmark's first platform collective agreement in 2018, it made headlines worldwide. Today, everyone working on the platform is employed with pension, holiday pay, sickness benefit and a guaranteed minimum wage — and at Hilfr it is people, not algorithms, who make decisions about employment.
For you as a customer, this means the requirements of the future are already everyday practice at Hilfr. You do not need to wait for legislation to use a platform with decent working conditions — it already exists.
Still have questions? Find answers on our FAQ page — or see whether Hilfr covers your area.
