MoveS lunchtime webinar - Free Movement of Workers and the Gig Economy
The EC-funded MoveS network (Free Movement and Social Security Coordination) organises a lunchtime webinar on 24 June at 11:00 CEST, 10:00 BST.
For several years, we have been observing the expansion of a new way of working: platform work, which has led to the growth of the gig-economy. Given that this way of working is gaining importance and is reshaping the labor markets within the EU, MoveS will explore how this phenomenon relates to free movement and social security coordination in the EU. After a deep-dive into the concept itself, focusing also on some challenges and opportunities that come with this way of working, we will touch upon the Directive proposed at EU-level, with the goal of improving the working conditions in the gig-economy. With regard to the free movement of workers, it is clear that, as the legislation at EU level was designed around a more traditional model of work, there actually exist gaps in the legislation when it comes to the gig-economy. Some possible solutions in this regard will be discussed further. Last but not least, the conflict rules of EU social security coordination may be challenged by cross-border situations of platform work. Main approaches taken by national and EU institutions to address potential issues will be discussed, as well as some alternative approaches.
Viewers will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their views in a dedicated Q&A session.
When: Friday, 24 June 2022, 11:00 – 13:30 CET (incl. 15 min break and 30 min Q&A session)
Where: online
Speakers: Karolien Lenaerts - Charlotte O’Brien - Alberto Barrio Fernandez
Moderation: Filip Van Overmeiren
Registration is free of charge at: MoveS Webinar - Free movement in the gig-economy (google.com)
For more information see the MoveS website.
Charlotte O’Brien will be presenting on:
Free movement in the gig economy: protecting the work and/or the workers?
The explosion in gig economy work in recent years poses a free movement paradox. On the one hand, the flexibility built-in to the gig work model should fit well with freedom to pursue work across borders. The demographic overlap is also notable – young people are both more likely to be employed in the gig economy and also more likely to migrate between Member States for work, opening up the possibility that the two phenomena will increasingly coincide.
On the other hand, gig-work creates procedural and ideological challenges; the free movement framework was designed around a more traditional model of work, with protections commensurate with consistency and duration of work. This talk examines the gig-gaps in the EU legislative architecture, and sketches out scenarios in which there is a clash of ideals embedded within the single market. In exploring proposals for better integrating gig-work into EU cross-border law (both through legislation and through possible interpretative approaches of the CJEU), this paper focuses on whether the EU can adapt to the new working landscape and yet prevent the growth of a fifth freedom – that of the free movement of exploitation.