EU Directive 2024/2831: A New Era for Platform Work in Europe

Current Status

On 23 October 2024, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the EU Platform Work Directive (EU) 2024/2831.

The Directive protects people who work through digital labor platforms, including gig workers, freelancers and those in hybrid forms of self-employment. It sets minimum standards on employment status, algorithmic decision-making, transparency and worker representation.

The Directive marks a turning point for the platform economy, as it brings long-debated issues about classification, algorithmic management and transparency into one coherent legal framework that will directly influence how digital labor platforms operate.

Most notably, the new rules apply to all platforms operating within the EU market, even if the company itself is headquartered outside the Union.

A Presumption of Employment

The Directive introduces a rebuttable presumption of employment.

This means that the platform can demonstrate that the worker is genuinely self-employed. According to Art. 5 of the Directive, the burden to proof this, however, lies with the platform, and not with the worker.

If a platform controls key aspects of the work, such as dictating prices, assigning tasks, monitoring performance or restricting working time, it is presumed to be the employer. The platform must then provide proof that the worker is genuinely independent in order to overturn that presumption.

This shift aims to tackle the widespread misclassification of workers as independent contractors, which often deprives them of rights such as:

Minimum wage
Paid leave
Social security protections
Collective bargaining and
Occupational safety standards.

Regulating Algorithmic Management

Many platforms use automated algorithms to assign tasks, monitor behavior, evaluate performance, and even suspend or deactivate accounts. To address the risks associated with opaque or arbitrary automated decision-making, the Directive introduces a series of mandatory safeguards:

Transparency obligations:

Workers must be expressly informed of any automated monitoring or decision-making systems that affect the organization or supervision of their work.

Human oversight:

Significant decisions, such as account deactivation, pay changes, or task allocation, must be subject to effective human review.

Data protection limits:

The processing of certain categories of sensitive personal data for algorithmic management purposes is expressly prohibited.

Consultation duties:

Workers and their representatives must be consulted in advance of any substantial modifications to the algorithms or automated systems governing working conditions.

Taken together, these measures establish the first comprehensive regulatory regime for algorithmic management in platform work, reinforcing transparency, accountability, and fairness in digital supervision.

More Transparency for Authorities

Digital labor platforms will be subject to reinforced reporting duties. At least twice annually, platforms must transmit to the competent national authorities detailed information concerning

the number of workers operating on their platform,
their classification or employment status,
the terms and conditions under which such work is performed, and
any cross-border or transnational elements of the services provided.

This is especially important as many platforms operate transnationally, making enforcement of labor and social security rules complex.

Authorities will now have clearer visibility into the scale and structure of platform work, improving compliance and reducing regulatory loopholes.

Greece’s Compliance Gap on the Platform Work Directive

Despite having established a ministerial working group, Greece has not yet produced a draft bill, opened a public consultation, or announced a legislative roadmap. For now, the national implementation strategy remains opaque.

As the EU’s transposition deadline approaches (December 2^nd, 2026), Greece finds itself in a widening compliance gap regarding the Platform Work Directive:

Greece maintains an older, duration- and exclusivity-based presumption of employment (Law 3846/2010), which is not grounded in platform-specific control mechanisms. This stands in contrast to the Directive, which requires Member States to create a presumption of employment based on signs that the platform directs or controls the work.

Until the Greek government legislates, both compliance and future architecture of Greek platform-work regulation remain uncertain. This transitional period creates a heightened compliance risk for platforms, particularly in high-control gig models (food delivery, ride-hailing, courier services), while leaving workers with incomplete protection.

Compliance After Transposition: What Will Change

To achieve compliance, Greece will therefore have to undertake a substantial legislative recalibration.

Platforms that continue to rely on the 2021 presumption of self-employment may face retroactive liabilities once Greek law is updated, such as back pay or social security obligations. Workers on the other hand have limited options to claim employee status today but could gain this status retroactively if courts apply the Directive directly after the transposition deadline.

When EU legislation, such as the Platform Work Directive, is in force, it overrides any conflicting provisions in domestic law, such as prevailing Greek law.

In practical terms, companies and workers in Member States must, however, comply with the Directive even if national laws have not yet been fully updated, and national authorities are required to implement EU obligations in a way that ensures the Directive’s objectives are achieved.

Key takeaways

Companies that start reviewing their operating models now will be better prepared to comply with the new regulatory framework. This early action can also help reduce the risk of legal disputes or administrative penalties once national laws come into force.

We are closely monitoring developments and the expected timeline for the Directive’s incorporation into Greek legislation.