New rules are to be introduced for food delivery, passenger transport and the placement of digital orders via apps. The government’s draft Act on platform work (Chamber Print No. 301) is primarily intended to make it easier to determine the actual status of workers and to regulate the use of algorithms in managing their work.

The Act transposes Directive (EU) 2024/2831 of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving working conditions in platform work.

What is a digital labour platform – and what is it not?

A digital labour platform is an internet service or mobile application that connects customers with people providing certain services, whilst also organising or supervising their work through automated systems. Typical examples include apps for food delivery or booking rides. However, they may also include online platforms that organise the work of translators, graphic designers or other service providers. Examples of digital labour platforms (also listed in the explanatory memorandum to the draft Act) include, for instance, Wolt and foodora in the field of food delivery, or Uber and Bolt in the field of passenger transport.

However, not every internet service or app is a digital labour platform within the meaning of the new legislation. The decisive factor is, above all, whether it organises, manages or supervises the work of individuals through automated systems. For example, a standard online shop selling its own goods, a job portal that merely publishes job vacancies, or a service focused on asset sharing does not, as a rule, fall under this definition. However, if an app, for example, automatically allocates jobs, monitors and evaluates workers’ performance, or influences their working conditions, it may constitute a digital labour platform.

Who is a worker and who is an intermediary?

Platform work is carried out by a natural person via a digital labour platform, whether they have an employment contract or are self-employed.

An intermediary is another entity involved between the platform and the worker within a contractual or subcontracting chain. An intermediary may, for example, be a company that employs couriers and provides them to a delivery platform, such as Wolt or foodora. Couriers therefore have a contract with the intermediary, not directly with the operator of the app through which they receive orders and delivery instructions. The new legislation therefore also covers cases where another company acts as an intermediary between the digital platform and the worker.

Key change: rebuttable presumption of an employment relationship

The new legislation introduces a rebuttable legal presumption of the existence of a basic employment relationship. If the established circumstances indicate that the work is carried out as dependent work, it is presumed, subject to the statutory conditions, that an employment relationship exists with the platform or, where applicable, the intermediary. The entity concerned may rebut this presumption by proving that one of the characteristics of dependent work is not met.

In practice: a courier operates as a self-employed person, but the app bindingly assigns them jobs, determines how the work is to be carried out and monitors its performance. If these circumstances indicate dependent work, the worker need not prove their status in the same way as before, and the burden of proof in rebutting the presumption will lie with the platform or intermediary. Each case will depend on the actual terms of the working arrangement.

Rules on algorithmic management and other obligations

Algorithmic management means that software, for example, allocates jobs, monitors their completion, assesses performance or influences a worker’s access to the application. The proposal requires, in particular, information to be provided on the automated systems used, human oversight and the possibility of explaining or reviewing significant decisions. It also restricts certain forms of personal data processing, such as the monitoring of private communications. Selected protective rules are also intended to apply to workers who are not employees.

The draft further regulates the record-keeping and information obligations of digital platforms, cooperation with supervisory authorities, and the protection of workers against adverse treatment for exercising their rights. The details and scope of these obligations depend on the role of the specific entity.

According to the government’s proposal, the new legislation is expected to come into force on 1 January 2027; the final wording and dates may change during the legislative process.

This article was prepared for you by JUDr. Ing. Eva Radová