Adapt or perish: Recent developments on social protection in the EU under a gig deal of pressure

Abstract

In times of the so-called gig economy, access to an adequate level of social protection should not depend on whether or not a person is working on a standard employment contract. Access to social protection for non-standard forms of labour and self-employment is, as a matter of fact, one of the main themes being discussed at the moment within the debates surrounding the European Pillar of Social Rights. This article aims at assessing the recent initiatives at the EU level that have the objective of ensuring access to social protection for all and both granting and enforcing transparent and predictable working conditions for workers. Accordingly, this contribution first sheds some light on the discussion on non-standard forms of labour and the problematics surrounding the emergence of new forms of labour to later analyse the new EU initiatives, in particular, the proposal for a Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed. It concludes by welcoming the recent position of the EU with regard to such challenges, yet emphasising also the need to do more.