Life after Yodel’s case law: protecting digital platforms workers under criminal law?

Digital platforms posed several concerns related to individuals’ labour rights. In fact, individuals performing services for digital platforms are frequently considered self-employees, due to the classical notion of ‘worker’ based on the degree of independence and subordination in the exercise of his/her activity. Although some progress was made through European and national legislation adopted in the last years, the legal protection of such individuals still requires reflection. In this context, Criminal Law could contribute to the protection against undeclared work. However, the protection of workers’ rights through criminal law cannot be considered adequate only to compensate for the lack of effectiveness of other social policies. In fact, there must be a need for intervention by criminal law, which, as we know, complies with the principle of subsidiarity or minimum intervention due to its impact on fundamental rights. To this extent, the role of European and national criminal law should be weighed with caution.