Regulating Platform Work: International and European Standards as Benchmarks for Ukraine

The relevance of this topic arises from the rapid expansion of platform work worldwide and the widespread practice of classifying digital platform workers as self-employed contractors, thereby depriving them of minimum labour protections and access to social protection. In Ukraine, meanwhile, this area remains largely unregulated by law. The study examines recent European and international standards governing platform work, together with selected examples of good practice from EU Member States in regulating work performed through digital labour platforms, with a view to informing the further development of Ukrainian legislation. Particular attention is paid to Directive (EU) 2024/2831 on improving working conditions in platform work, which identifies direction and control as two key indicators of the existence of an employment relationship. The Directive also introduces a rebuttable legal presumption of an employment relationship and places the burden of proving otherwise on the digital labour platform. Spain’s experience in addressing disguised employment relationships demonstrates that enforcing labour legislation through judicial reclassification and administrative fines is not always sufficiently effective. In Spain, the introduction of criminal liability has become a decisive instrument for countering business models deliberately structured in contravention of statutory requirements. Portugal’s experience of incorporating the relevant provisions into its Labour Code may be particularly valuable for Ukraine in the context of the ongoing reform of national labour legislation. It illustrates the possibility of introducing both a ‘classical’ presumption of an employment relationship and a ‘digital’ presumption tailored to the specific characteristics of platform work. The article also examines the recently adopted ILO Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, 2026 (No. 193). For the first time at the international level, the Convention defines such concepts as ‘digital platform worker’ and ‘digital labour platform’ and extends fundamental principles and rights at work to platform workers irrespective of their status in employment. The study concludes that European and international standards should guide the reform of Ukrainian legislation. The effectiveness of such reform will, however, depend on the state’s willingness to establish an effective presumption of an employment relationship, strengthen the powers of the labour inspectorate, and overcome resistance from the business sector.