Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy

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Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |   1

   Fairwork Germany
         Ratings 2020:
  Labour Standards in
the Platform Economy
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
2   |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

Editorial:

Towards Fair Work
As the COVID-19 virus spreads rapidly across the world, many
countries are enforcing far-reaching curfews or lockdowns, and
closing state borders to contain it. Meanwhile, local shops and
supermarkets have become sites of contagion. Platform workers
have found themselves at the frontlines of this global health
crisis.1,2

For example, some deliver food to           University of Berlin (TUB), together      of these five principles. The first two
those self-isolating or quarantined,        with the Oxford Internet Institute        principles concern whether workers
whilst others provide care and              (OII) at the University of Oxford,        receive a fair pay for their work and
other essential services to those in        are now implementing the Fairwork         if their jobs are characterised by
need. Together with other essential         rating scheme in Germany. In              healthy and safe working conditions.
workers, they make it possible for the      collaboration with other research         The three others focus on whether
population to access basic needs from       partners, the model is also being         the platform has engaged in a fair
the comfort and safety of their homes.      operationalised in Brazil, Chile,         contractual agreement with the
But at what risk to themselves?             Ecuador, Indonesia and the UK.            workers; whether there are clear and
                                            We are particularly grateful for the      transparent management processes
Many platform workers—especially            support of the Wissenschaftszentrum       and communication channels; and
those who are self-employed—do              Berlin (WZB) and the Weizenbaum           whether workers are able to express
not have adequate health and safety         Institute for the Networked Society       themselves collectively through open
protections, access to sick pay, or         in implementing Fairwork Germany.         worker representation.
other forms of financial support in the     Fairwork Germany has been endorsed
case that they are unable to work. This     by Elke Breitenbach, Berlin’s             We assessed evidence against each
pandemic has shone a light on the           Senator for Integration, Labour and       of these Fairwork principles through
fundamental role platform workers           Social Services,3 and is included in      a combination of desk research,
play in our lives, while at the same time   the Federal Government’s Digital          worker interviews in Berlin, and semi-
highlighting the extreme insecurity         Implementation Strategy.4                 structured interviews with platform
of their work arrangements. But not                                                   managers. We acknowledge that, due
all platforms are the same. Labour          Fairwork Germany aims to shed             to the dynamic nature of the platform
standards in the platform economy           light on the working conditions of        economy and data confidentiality,
vary a great deal from platform to          platform workers and make practical       reliable information may be difficult
platform, and from country to country.      suggestions for improving them. The       to obtain. We therefore only award a
Therefore, it is ever more important to     analysis we present in this report is     point when there is clear and sufficient
assess labour standards of different        founded upon five core principles         evidence that supports a principle. In
platforms in order to establish a fairer    of fair platform work: Fair Pay, Fair     other words, our research strategy is
platform economy in Germany.                Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair          not based on the principle of voluntary
                                            Management, and Fair Representation.      participation by platforms.
After launching in India and South          Each principle is divided into two
Africa last year, in 2020, the Fairwork     thresholds. We award scores out of        Our findings indicate that Germany’s
project has expanded its research           ten to a platform based on whether        relatively stringent labour regulations
activities to Germany. As set out           they meet the basic threshold (1          provide some protections for workers,
in this report, the Department of           point) and then achieve the higher        but do not always translate into fairer
Entrepreneurship and Innovation             threshold (1 additional point) for each   working conditions in the platform
Management (EIM) at the Technical                                                     economy. This discrepancy is perhaps
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |   3

                                          Contents
not surprising, given that in recent
years, the German labour market
has increasingly relied on low-wage,
casual and migrant labour; partly
undermining the historically strong
labour regulations framework.

With Germany moving towards the
Fourth Industrial Revolution at full
speed, it is crucial that we safeguard    02      Editorial: Towards Fair Work
important protections for all workers.
The range in Fairwork scores across
German platforms is proof that very
different models of work are possible     04      The Fairwork Framework
within the platform economy. Crucially,
this points to pathways for effective

                                          06
regulation, and provides a basis from             Overview of the German Platform
which collective bodies of workers can            Economy
formulate their demands. Our hope is
that workers, consumers, regulators

                                          09
and companies use the Fairwork                    The Legal Context: What Makes a
framework and ratings to imagine,                 Worker an Employee?
and realise, a fairer German platform
economy.

                                          11      Fairwork Scores

                                          13      Platform in Focus: CleverShuttle

                                          14      Platform in Focus: Zenjob

                                          15      Workers’ Stories

                                          16
                                                  Theme in Focus: COVID-19 and
                                                  Platform Workers in Germany

Dr. Maren Borkert, Chair
of Entrepreneurship and
                                          18      Impact and Next Steps

Innovation Management (EIM)
at the Technical University of
Berlin (TUB)                              21      Appendix: Fairwork Scoring
                                                  System

                                          25      Credits and Funding

                                          26      Endnotes
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
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                                                                          01            The five
                                                                                        principles

                                                                          Fair Pay
                                                                          Workers, irrespective of their
                                                                          employment classification, should
                                                                          earn a decent income in their home
                                                                          jurisdiction after taking account of
                                                                          work-related costs.

                                                                          Fair Conditions

The
                                                                          Platforms should have policies in place
                                                                          to protect workers from foundational
                                                                          risks arising from the processes of

Fairwork
                                                                          work, and should take proactive
                                                                          measures to protect and promote the
                                                                          health and safety of workers.

Framework
                                                                          Fair Contracts
                                                                          Terms and conditions should be
                                                                          transparent, concise, and provided
                                                                          to workers in an accessible form. The
                                                                          party contracting with the worker must
                                                                          be subject to local law and must be
                                                                          identified in the contract. If workers
                                                                          are genuinely self-employed, terms
The Fairwork project evaluates                                            of service are free of clauses which

the working conditions of digital                                         unreasonably exclude liability on the
                                                                          part of the platform.
platforms and ranks them on how
well they do. Our goal is to show                                         Fair Management
                                                                          There should be a documented process
that better, and fairer, jobs are                                         through which workers can be heard,
                                                                          can appeal decisions affecting them,
possible in the platform economy.                                         and be informed of the reasons behind
                                                                          those decisions. There must be a
                                                                          clear channel of communication to
    To do this, we use five principles that digital platforms should      workers involving the ability to appeal
    comply with in order to be considered to be offering ‘fair work’.     management decisions or deactivation.
    We evaluate platforms against these principles to show not only       The use of algorithms is transparent
    what the platform economy is, but also what it should be.             and results in equitable outcomes
                                                                          for workers. There should be an
    The five Fairwork principles were initially developed at a multi-
                                                                          identifiable and documented policy that
    stakeholder workshop at the International Labour Organisation.
                                                                          ensures equity in the way workers are
    We then held follow up workshops for local stakeholders in Berlin,
                                                                          managed on a platform (for example,
    Bangalore, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. Our Berlin workshops
                                                                          in the hiring, disciplining, or firing of
    were held in collaboration with the Weizenbaum Institute in
                                                                          workers).
    May 2019. Attendees represented a variety of key stakeholders,
    including Berlin’s Senate Department for Labour and Social
    Affairs, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and the   Fair Representation
    German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). These workshops and           Platforms should provide a documented
    our follow-up conversations with platform workers, platforms,         process through which worker voice
    trade unions, regulators, academics, and labour lawyers allowed       can be expressed. Irrespective of their
    us to revise and fine-tune the principles, and ensure that they       employment classification, workers
    were applicable to the German context.                                should have the right to organise in
                                                                          collective bodies, and platforms should
    Further details on the thresholds for each principle, and
                                                                          be prepared to cooperate and negotiate
    the criteria used to assess the collected evidence to score
                                                                          with them.
    platforms, can be found in the Appendix.
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                        5

02            Methodology
              overview
The Fairwork project uses three approaches
to effectively measure fairness at work.

Desk Research                               Worker Interviews
The process starts with desk research       The third method involves interviewing
to ascertain which platforms are            platform workers directly. We aim for a
operating in each city, as well as noting   sample of 6-10 workers interviews at
the largest and most influential ones.      each platform. Workers are approached
In Germany, we focused on platforms         either through the platform directly
operating in Berlin. This research          or at known worker meeting points.
provides the overall range of the           These interviews do not aim to build a
platforms that are ranked, as well as       representative sample. They instead
identifying points of contact or ways       seek to understand the processes
to access workers. Desk research            of work and the ways it is carried
also flags up any public information        out and managed. They allow us, for

                                                                                      03
that could be used to score particular      instance, to see contracts and learn
platforms (for instance the provision       about platform policies that pertain to                 How we
of particular services to workers, or       workers. The interviews also allow the
ongoing disputes).                          team to confirm or refute that policies                 score
                                            or practices are really in place on the
                                                                                      Each of the five Fairwork principles is
Platform Interviews                         platform.
                                                                                      broken down into two points: a basic
The second method involves                                                            point and a more advanced point that
approaching platforms for evidence.         Putting it all together                   can only be awarded if the basic point
We interview platform managers              This threefold approach provides a        has been fulfilled. Every platform
and request evidence for each of the        way to cross-check the claims made        receives a score out of 10. Platforms
Fairwork principles. This provides          by platforms, while also providing the    are only given a point when they
insights into the operation and             opportunity to collect both positive      can satisfactorily demonstrate their
business model of the platform, while       and negative evidence from multiple       implementation of the principles.
also opening up a dialogue through          sources. Final scores are collectively
which the platform could agree to                                                     Failing to achieve a point does not
                                            decided by the Fairwork team based
implement changes based on the                                                        necessarily mean that a platform
                                            on all three forms of information
principles. In cases where platform                                                   does not comply with the principle
                                            gathering. The scores are peer-
managers do not agree to interviews,                                                  in question. It simply means that we
                                            reviewed by the country team, the
we limit our scoring to evidence                                                      are not—for whatever reason—able to
                                            Oxford team and two reviewers from
obtained through desk research and                                                    evidence its compliance.
                                            other country teams. This allows us
worker interviews.                          to provide consistency and rigour to      See the Appendix for further details
                                            the scoring process. Points are only      on the Fairwork scoring system.
                                            awarded if clear evidence exists on
                                            each threshold.
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
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Overview
of the
German
Platform
Economy
    The German economy has long been characterised by a rich
    tradition of tripartite social partnership. In post-war Western
    Germany, this model of regulating the labour market involved
    close coordination between three pillars of competing interests:
    strong labour unions representing a relatively homogeneous
    domestic workforce, financially well-equipped employers’
    organisations, and the government.5

                                                                            Social Partnership
                                 On a smaller but certainly no less         and the Platform
                                 important scale, practices of co-
                                 determination have frequently brought
                                                                            Economy
“Could Germany                   about potent legal mechanisms              At first glance, the historical legacy
serve as a vanguard              for workers to actively influence
                                 decisions at their workplaces, through
                                                                            of strong social partnership between
                                                                            employers’ and workers’ organisations
for other countries              arrangements such as works councils.
                                 With that in mind, a question that
                                                                            means we have powerful regulatory
                                                                            frameworks to thwart precarity,
when it comes to                 bears asking is how does Germany’s         discrimination, and atomisation in
                                 distinctive labour market environment
taming the worst                 relate to the rise of digital platforms?
                                                                            the platform economy. However, the
                                                                            spread of non-standard employment
excesses of platform             Could Germany serve as a vanguard
                                 for other countries when it comes to
                                                                            and the increased tertiarisation of
                                                                            the economy, in combination with
capitalism?”                     taming the worst excesses of platform
                                 capitalism?
                                                                            increased migration from within and
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                        7

beyond the EU, is giving rise to a rather   environment conducive to growth in           These characteristics make platform
different picture. Most importantly,        Germany. A range of labour platform          work particularly attractive for
many companies relying on migrant           companies have been founded in               migrants.
work often evade sectoral collective        Berlin, including Helpling and Betreut.
bargaining agreements and undermine         de, with the city receiving the second-      Migration and
minimum labour standards. As long-          largest volume of venture capital
term analyses of essential sectors such     investment among European cities.12          Platform Work
as the meat industry,7 the construction     The country shows very high levels
                                                                                         It is thus not surprising that most of the
industry8 and the health care sector9       of internet connectivity, with nearly
                                                                                         platform workers we interviewed in the
show, outsourcing and subcontracting        three quarters of the population using
                                                                                         course of our research have a migration
practices have been widespread in           a smartphone in 2019, and almost
                                                                                         background. In our interviews,
Germany in the last two decades.            90 percent of the population using
                                                                                         migrants often stressed that they
                                            the internet regularly.13 While there
These examples demonstrate that                                                          find platform work more accessible
                                            is no comprehensive or comparative
concerns about a two-tier labour                                                         than much of the rest of the local
                                            public data on the precise number
market in Germany are by no means                                                        labour market. When migrant workers
                                            of platform workers in Germany,
new. In 2018, more than half of the                                                      engage in platform work, a number of
                                            estimates range between 500,000 to
working population (33.3 million)                                                        particular issues come to the fore. For
                                            1.6 million workers.14 The majority
were registered employees subject                                                        instance, language proficiency might
                                            of these work in household-related
to social security contributions, with                                                   affect a worker’s ability to understand
                                            services (e.g. cleaning, pet-sitting, care
an unemployment rate of slightly                                                         a platform’s terms and conditions.
                                            work), logistics (e.g. food delivery), and
above five percent.10 Despite this                                                       It might also affect their ability to
                                            transport (e.g. ride-hailing services).
low unemployment rate, there is a                                                        communicate with their coworkers and
high share of low-wage earners (22.5        Platform work in Germany is often            the platform’s management to discuss
percent), which significantly exceeds       lauded for its flexibility and low entry     any issues they might experience.
the European average (17.2 percent).11      barriers, as there is generally no need      Moreover, newcomers often lack a
In other words, in recent years, the        for specific occupational licences and       clear understanding of workers’ rights
German labour market has been               it can often be performed with limited       in their new country of residence,
characterised by a comparatively high       knowledge of the German language.            including the legal procedures and
reliance on low-wage, non-standard          Therefore, platform work can provide         institutions that might protect them.
employment.                                 a fast route to earning income, and
                                                                                         Our research shows that clear
                                            is frequently a lifeline for those who
Against this background, several                                                         contracts, as well as transparent terms
                                            face barriers to standard employment.
digital labour platforms have found an                                                   and conditions, available in languages
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
8     |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

    other than German, can make an              debates and policy proposals at         could also be applied in contexts in
    enormous difference for many migrant        the intersections of migrant labour,    which transportation platforms rely
    workers. At the same time, establishing     subcontracting, and the dynamics of     on intermediary firms that employ
    formalised and well-advertised              social partnership. For instance, in    workers.17 In short, the ongoing cat-
    channels for workers to communicate         late 2019, the German government        and-mouse games between strong
    with platforms, both to raise grievances    issued a new law for protecting         labour market regulations and creative
    and to appeal disciplinary decisions,       subcontracted parcel delivery drivers   counter-strategies by private sector
    are fundamental to empower workers          (Nachunternehmerhaftung)15 —the         actors to undermine them provide the
    to express their voice and exercise         majority of whom were migrant           context for understanding the German
    their rights. Finally, the existence of a   workers from Central and Eastern        platform economy.
    collective body representing workers        Europe. The law has been critiqued
    can monitor working conditions,             by unionists and labour rights          While recent technological
    improve the bargaining power of             advocates for not going far enough      advancements have made the rise of
    workers against arbitrary decisions,        to improve the status quo in terms      digital labour platforms possible, they
    and help to protect the most vulnerable     of workload and safety.16 Still, it     have not brought about a concomitant
    workers from exploitation.                  puts a spotlight on the ways in which   (novel or disruptive) development in
                                                companies find sophisticated ways       labour standards. Our focus on working

    New Technologies,                           of evading obligations of social        conditions in the platform economy
                                                                                        brings to the foreground familiar
                                                security contributions and minimum
    Familiar Questions?                         wage laws by establishing opaque        questions relating to the struggle to
                                                and layered networks of contractors     create decent working conditions for
    Given these developments in the                                                     all workers in Germany, irrespective
                                                and subcontractors within the
    German labour market, it is crucial                                                 of their employment status or
                                                parcel delivery sector. Recently, it
    that we contextualise our results                                                   background.
                                                has been debated whether that law
    within the broader context of ongoing
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                     9

The Legal Context:

What Makes a Worker
an Employee?
In Germany—as in most other jurisdictions18 —worker
protections, derived from labour law and social security laws, are
mostly predicated on workers being classified as ‘employees’.
 German labour law is embedded               denied him employee status, and            Several policy responses to worker
 in the country’s model of a social          justified its decision by finding that     misclassification have been discussed.
 market economy.19 The legal                 there was neither an obligation to         First and foremost, it is necessary to
 definition of ‘employee’ has been           accept an order nor, conversely, an        enforce existing labour laws in cases of
 developed over more than a hundred          obligation for the platform operator       disguised employment relationships.
 years in the context of hierarchical        to offer orders.20 However, the court      Most labour platforms—despite
 organisations typical of the Fordist        left open the question of whether a        their claims to the contrary—are
 production system and informed by           fixed-term employment relationship         not simply intermediaries between
 collective agreements. Therefore, the       (befristetes Arbeitsverhältnis) becomes    workers and customers. Instead,
 classification of workers in atypical and   established when a worker accepts          they exert significant control over the
 platform-mediated working contexts          a specific order on the platform, and      labour process, and should be held
 presents problems. Indeed, several          has allowed an appeal to be heard by       accountable as such. Second, the
 digital labour platforms do not classify    the Federal Labour Court. This appeal,     legislative definition of ‘employee’
 their workers as employees, depriving       which is expected to take place later      must be clarified. A recent attempt at
 them of the contingent protections.         this year, may hopefully provide further   doing this failed in 2017.22 The policy
 For such platform workers, security         clarity on this fiercely disputed issue.   process showed the problems around
 over their employment status can                                                       such attempts: they usually address
 only come through the courts. But it is     This legal situation creates a range of    only one very specific form of work.
 difficult to know for certain how a court   loopholes that digital labour platforms    The 2017 attempt was designed to
 or tribunal would end up classifying        take advantage of. According to the        address the particular problem of
 the employment relationship in              definition of what constitutes an          how outsourced workers in industrial
 adjudicating disputes.                      ‘employment contract’,21 a good            sectors should be classified and would
                                             number of geographically tethered          possibly have been of limited help in
 In these disputes, the definitional         labour platforms could be argued           classifying platform work. Yet even
 blurriness of what constitutes a            to qualify as employers. However,          labour relationships in the platform
 ‘platform’ and ‘platform work’ has          by contractually classifying—or,           economy that are based on the
 fundamental consequences for                in the frequent case of ‘disguised         employee model have been subject
 legal decisions that directly affect        employment relationships’                  to ongoing legal disputes. Lieferando,
 the livelihoods of workers. Most            (Scheinselbstständigkeit),                 for instance, does classify its German
 recently, in December 2019, the             misclassifying—platform workers            workers as employees. However, in
 Munich Regional Labour Court ruled          as independent contractors, digital        Münster as well as in Cologne, the
 that a 52-year-old worker was not           platforms circumvent obligations to        platform has been continuously fighting
 an employee of Roamer, a Dutch              provide workers with employment            in the courts over the establishment of
 labour platform. The platform worker        rights. These include minimum wages,       effective Works Councils after its Dutch
 claimed that the contract between           health and safety regulations, sick pay,   parent company Takeway.com had
 him and the platform constituted an         working time regulation, and collective    acquired Delivery Hero and Foodora in
 ‘employment contract’ (Arbeitsvertrag)      bargaining rights. Furthermore, these      Germany.
 that could not be terminated without        platforms also leave workers with
 considering Germany’s Dismissal             limited social protection, such as         It is also important to note that
 Protection Act. The court, however,         unemployment benefits.                     labour law is by no means the only
Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy - Labour Standards in the Platform Economy
10   |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

 regulatory framework that affects the      Regulating the German platform             These initiatives show that we need to
 platform economy in Germany. For           economy remains a priority for             collaboratively develop—by bringing
 example, in the rich regulatory history    policy-makers, including the Federal       workers and key stakeholders to
 of Uber Germany,23 the law of public       Ministry of Labour and Social              the table—an enforceable code of
 transport and unfair competition           Affairs, which established a think         worker rights that is compatible with
 has long played a key role in shaping      tank in 2018 (Denkfabrik Digitale          sustainable business models. The
 the company’s operations, including        Arbeitsgesellschaft) to develop            diversity of digital labour platforms and
 its relationship with intermediary         comprehensive regulatory approaches.       types of employment classification do
 companies employing drivers. In            We would argue that any such               not make such regulation necessarily
 December 2018, the The Federal Court       approach must consider the collective      unfeasible. It is in this context that we
 of Justice ruled that Uber’s business      bargaining rights of platform workers—     see the Fairwork framework providing
 model violates Germany’s rules of          they must be able to form trade unions     an intervention for responsive and
 public transport and constitutes unfair    and conclude collective agreements         effective policy responses in Germany,
 competition.24 As a result, Uber has       with platforms in order to contribute to   which may inspire other countries to
 been adjusting its business model –        regulation of working conditions and       adapt similar measures. Through the
 most recently by operating with only       pay. The European Court of Justice,        Fairwork scores, we hope to stimulate
 one intermediary firm as a general         in December 2014,26 has already            policy discussions on how to guarantee
 contractor (Generalunternehmer) in all     shown how this could be argued—and         that platform work is fair and to
 cities, instead of multiple intermediary   even the EU Commissioner Margrethe         highlight good practice from which
 companies.25                               Vestager now considers collective          both platforms and policymakers can
                                            bargaining rights of platform workers      learn.
                                            as imperative.27
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |   11

Fairwork Scores
Score (out of 10)

 CleverShuttle                                                                           9

 Zenjob                                                                              8

 InStaff                                                                  7

 BerlKönig                                                     6

 Lieferando                                         5

 Amazon Flex                             4

 Betreut.de                              4

 Careship                                4

 Helpling         2

 Uber      1

The breakdown of scores for individual platforms can be seen at: www.fair.work/ratings
12   |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

                                                                                         CleverShuttle is the only platform that
                                                                                         provided evidence for establishing a
                                                                                         collective body of workers. In the case
                                                                                         of Zenjob, the company included in their
                                                                                         general agreement a commitment to
 Fair Pay                                  Fair Management                               encourage and support the establishment
                                                                                         of a collective body of workers. However,
                                           Only half of the platforms were able to
 All platforms but one were able to                                                      for the majority of digital platforms,
                                           demonstrate that their management
 evidence that workers are paid at least                                                 there was no evidence of a documented
                                           processes allowed for due process for
 the minimum wage (which in Germany                                                      process through which workers’ collective
                                           decisions affecting workers. Only one
 is set at €9.35 per hour in 2020). For                                                  voice could be heard, nor was there any
                                           platform, InStaff, has a substantial policy
 the vast majority of platforms, workers                                                 evidence of platforms encouraging the
                                           in place to prevent discrimination against
 are hired through an employment                                                         formation of a collective workers’ body
                                           people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
 contract, rather than on a self-                                                        with which they would cooperate. This
                                           The secrecy surrounding how some
 employment basis, and they are thus                                                     leaves most German platform workers
                                           platforms use algorithms meant that
 paid an hourly or monthly wage. Of                                                      without institutionalised channels for
                                           it was difficult for them to clearly
 those paying at least the minimum                                                       worker representation, and means
                                           demonstrate that they had meaningful
 wage, the majority were also able to                                                    that they have little influence over the
                                           pro-equity policies in place.
 show that workers earn the minimum                                                      decisions that impact their jobs.
 wage even after work-related costs are
 taken into account.

                                           Fair Representation
                                           The principle of fair representation
 Fair Conditions                           was only met by two platforms,
                                           CleverShuttle and Zenjob.
 Seven out of ten platforms were able
 to evidence that they have policies in
 place to protect workers from risks
 arising from the processes of work.
 Only one company, CleverShuttle, was
 able to evidence that it had adopted
 proactive measures to go beyond basic
 protections and improve the well-being
 of its workers. Our findings in this
 category indicate that more efforts are
 needed to improve job quality.

 Fair Contracts
 All platforms provide terms and
 conditions in a clear, transparent and
 accessible form. For six out of ten
 companies, the contract was shown
 to genuinely reflect the nature of the
 relationship between the platform and
 the workers.
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                       13

Platform in Focus:

CleverShuttle                                                                                                            Total

          Principle 1:                     Pays at least the local                   Pays the local minimum                2
                                           minimum wage                              wage plus costs                      POINTS

          Fair Pay

          Principle 2:
                                           Mitigates task-specific risks
                                                                                     Actively improves working             2
                                                                                                                          POINTS

          Fair Conditions                                                            conditions

          Principle 3:                     Clear terms and conditions                Genuinely reflects the                2
          Fair Contracts                   are available                             nature of the relationship           POINTS

                                                                                                                           1
                                                                                     Evidence of preventing
          Principle 4: Fair                Provides due process for
                                                                                     discrimination and
                                           decisions affecting workers                                                    POINT

          Management                                                                 promoting equity

                                                                                                                           2
          Principle 5: Fair                Includes freedom of                       Recognises body can
                                           association and worker                    undertake collective
          Representation
                                                                                                                          POINTS

                                           voice mechanism                           representation/bargaining

                                                        CleverShuttle overall score                                   09

CleverShuttle sits at the top of the       CleverShuttle is the only company in             collective voice can be heard. In
Fairwork rankings in Germany this          Germany to be awarded point 2.2, as              Berlin, the creation of a works council
year. CleverShuttle is a ride-hailing      it is the only platform to have adopted          is underway, meaning that in the
platform founded in 2014. It provides      proactive measures to promote the                future, CleverShuttle drivers in the
an environmentally friendly car-           health and safety of its workers.                city will be able to exert their right
pooling service in six German cities.                                                       of codetermination, and potentially
All CleverShuttle drivers are classified   Workers are hired on either a part-time          influence management decisions.
as employees and are required to           or full-time basis, and the contract
have a passenger transport certificate     genuinely reflects the nature of the             At the moment, CleverShuttle is close
(P-Schein). The platform pays monthly      relationship between the platform                to being an example of best practice in
wages to its workers, and there exists     and the drivers. The contract is                 Germany with respect to fair working
a documented policy which ensures          made available to drivers in a clear             practices. The company should be
that drivers earn a minimum hourly         and accessible form. Moreover,                   recognised for adopting proactive
wage after work-related costs, which       CleverShuttle has a clearly established          measures to improve the health and
is higher than the German national         process through which workers can                safety of its workers and encouraging
minimum wage.                              communicate with the company and                 a collective body through which its
                                           raise any issues.                                workers will be represented. In the
The platform also has a documented                                                          future, we hope CleverShuttle will
policy in place which ensures that         In contrast to the majority of                   remain an example of fair working
customers agree to protect workers’        other platforms rated by Fairwork,               practices for other platforms in
health and safety in compliance with       CleverShuttle has a documented                   Germany and beyond.
German regulations. Furthermore,           process through which workers’
14   |    Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

Platform in Focus:

Zenjob                                                                                                                     Total

            Principle 1:                      Pays at least the local                  Pays the local minimum                2
                                              minimum wage                             wage plus costs                      POINTS

            Fair Pay

            Principle 2:
                                              Mitigates task-specific risks
                                                                                       Actively improves working             1
            Fair Conditions                                                            conditions                           POINT

            Principle 3:                      Clear terms and conditions               Genuinely reflects the                2
            Fair Contracts                    are available                            nature of the relationship           POINTS

                                                                                                                             1
                                                                                       Evidence of preventing
            Principle 4: Fair                 Provides due process for
                                                                                       discrimination and
                                              decisions affecting workers                                                   POINT

            Management                                                                 promoting equity

                                                                                                                             2
            Principle 5: Fair                 Includes freedom of                      Recognises body can
                                              association and worker                   undertake collective
            Representation
                                                                                                                            POINTS

                                              voice mechanism                          representation/bargaining

                                                                              Zenjob overall score                    08

 Zenjob is one of the top-scoring             The platform uses either temporary              Zenjob has now agreed to make a
 platforms in our rating. Zenjob              contracts (kurzfristige Beschäftigung)          proactive effort to encourage collective
 provides a range of temporary jobs for       or working student contracts                    representation among its workers,
 students in a variety of sectors, such       (Werkstudentenvertrag) for its workers.         and has explicitly stated this in the
 as hospitality, retail, and logistics. The   While temporary contracts are capped            updated general agreement. This is
 platform’s wages exceed the German           at 70 days per year, the duration of            a commendable step to ensure fair
 minimum wage, even after including           working student contracts ranges                worker representation. Having voice
 work-related costs.                          between three and six months, and the           and collective power in the workplace
                                              working hours are between 10 and 20             is essential for workers if they wish
 Zenjob has a documented policy               hours per week.                                 to move away from exploitative
 which ensures that clients agree to                                                          relationships.
 protect workers’ health and safety in        Zenjob has a formalised process
 accordance with German regulations.          through which workers can
 Jobs that are advertised on the              communicate with the platform and
 platform are constantly reviewed             be informed of disciplinary decisions
 by the management to ensure                  affecting them. In the event of a
 compliance, and workers are able to          contract being terminated, the platform
 raise complaints about issues related        interface is still available for appeals.
 to their health and safety. That said,       However, a policy to protect workers
 the platform does not offer health and       against discrimination is still needed
 safety training to its workers.              for the company to receive full points in
                                              the Fair Management category.
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                           15

Workers’ Stories
                    Mia* had been working for a domestic work            problems they face during work, and where
                    platform in Berlin for about five months when        possible, help each other out. Overall, she is
                    we spoke to her. She signed up to the platform       satisfied with the platform but she is also wary
   Mia              as she saw it as a “fast way to earn money           of “negative aspects like high commission and
                    without providing a lot of documents and             unpaid travel time to customers”. Mia also
                    certifications, plus you don’t have to speak         does not like that she is unable to comment
                    German”. Previously, she had worked in retail        on the behaviour of her customers: while
                    in her home country in South America. Some of        they can leave her public reviews on her
                    her friends from home suggested the platform         platform profile, she cannot reciprocate it.
                    to her. It is hard for her to estimate her average   She gets the impression that the platform
                    monthly earnings from this work because she          prioritises consumers over workers. For this
                    has not submitted her tax declaration for this       reason, she sometimes asks clients she finds
                    year yet.                                            through the platform if she can work for them
                                                                         independently. That way, she does not have
                    Mia keeps in regular contact with others using       to pay the platform a commission or deal with
                    the platform through Facebook and WhatsApp           negative reviews on her profile.
                    groups. They talk about challenges and

                    Lech* completed a university degree in graphic       tends to fluctuate quite a lot. In the month
                    design in his home country in Eastern Europe,        we met him, he made just over half of what
  Lech              and worked as a designer for several years           he had made in the previous month. He does
                    before moving to Berlin. Upon arrival, he signed     not have any contact with other drivers using
                    up with a prominent ride-hailing platform.           the same platform or other employees of
                    He was attracted to the platform because             the intermediary firm, so he does not know
                    of its flexibility. He also hoped the regular        whether his experience is similar to other
                    contact with riders would help him improve           drivers or not. Being far from home, one thing
                    his German. However, practising German while         Lech worries about is what would happen if
                    working as a driver proved rather difficult for      he had an accident—he is not sure whether he
                    Lech. He found that most of his customers            has insurance that would protect him. Luckily,
                    were not actually native German speakers, but        nothing serious has happened so far, save for
                    tourists visiting the city. He still sees driving    the occasional unruliness from the passengers
                    in Berlin as “easy money, and a way to get in        he sometimes drives back and forth between
                    touch with people”.                                  Berlin’s clubs.

                    When we interviewed Lech, he had been
                    working for four months on the platform, but
                    not exactly for the platform. He receives his
                    payslips, as well as the car he uses to work,
                    from an intermediary company, which leases
                    cars to many others like him. Lech says he
                    does not know how many drivers work for
                    that intermediary or what relationship that
*Names changed      firm has with the platform he uses. Though he
                                                                               Photo: VladanRadulovicjhb / Shutterstock
to protect worker   works around 40 hours per week, his income
identity
16   |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

Theme in Focus:

COVID-19 and
Platform Workers in
Germany
An increasing number of countries, including Germany, have
implemented COVID-19 related lockdown measures, obliging
people to stay at home, unless for specific essential activities.
Together with other essential workers like cashiers, care
workers, police, and construction workers, platform workers
have been at the frontlines of the health crisis, allowing those
who are self-isolating to purchase goods and services without
leaving their home. But at what risk to themselves?
 Platform workers, both full-time and       the fore recently in France, where        leading to rather absurd cases where
 part-time, often live from paycheck to     Amazon was forced to close its French     workers learn about platform policies
 paycheck. Many of them do not have         warehouses after a court ruled that its   through the media rather than from
 any option but to continue working         safety measures to protect warehouse      the platform.30 However, workers have
 during the health crisis.                  workers against COVID-19 were             started to push back against platforms’
                                            inadequate.28 It is highly advisable      insufficient responses. For example,
 In view of the crisis, a number of         for German delivery platforms as well     a petition demanding that Lieferando
 platforms in Germany have started          to consider the enormous risks being      provide disinfectants and protective
 to offer improved health and safety        borne by workers, and establish robust    clothes for all workers was signed by
 protections for their workers. In the      health protection safeguards.             nearly 10,000 people in April 2020,
 delivery sector, for instance, platforms                                             though this has yet to see any impact.31
 have widely publicised the introduction    In the ride-hailing sector, platforms
 of so-called ‘contact-free deliveries’,    have also adopted measures to             Beyond platform measures, the
 intended to minimise the risk of           protect against COVID-19. For             German government has also
 workers and clients infecting each         instance, CleverShuttle has introduced    introduced certain measures to
 other. While this measure benefits         a partition between drivers and           compensate workers for income lost
 customers and workers at the moment        passengers for some vehicles.29           due to COVID-19, both for workers
 of delivery, it remains unclear if and     However, many of the measures             classified as ‘employees’, and those
 how German platforms are protecting        adopted by platforms have been            classified as ‘self-employed’. Workers
 their workers at the other stages of       superficial and insufficient, leaving     employed by platforms can claim
 work that involve physical proximity to    many workers at risk of contracting the   sick leave and qualify (through their
 others, including, for example, when       virus during work. In fact, platforms     employer) for Kurzarbeitergeld
 workers pick up the item for delivery      sometimes seem to put a lot of energy     (reduced hours compensation),
 at a collection points frequented by       into telling customers how they are       which compensates them for 60%
 other workers, or when they travel         protecting workers, without actually      of lost income (paid by the German
 in public spaces. This issue came to       informing the workers themselves,         government).32 The Berlin Senate
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                     17

                      also announced a generous support        million full-time jobs in the second
                      programme for self-employed workers,     quarter of 2020.35 When people are
                      where each worker could claim 5,000      stripped of their work, they experience
                      Euros as a non-repayable grant.          loss at all levels—not only of income,
                      Self-employed platform workers           but also dignity, meaning and hope.
                      could in theory have benefitted from     Although losing work is hard for
                      this, but the funds for this scheme      everyone, its dangers are likely to
                      dried up after only three weeks in       disproportionately affect those who
                      operation.33 The currently available     can least afford it, including platform
                      governmental support is rather geared    workers.36 Platform workers will be
“Many platform        towards supporting companies with        particularly affected, as they tend

workers do not have   their expenses, including personnel
                      costs for employees. Most platform
                                                               to be low paid, and have unstable
                                                               employment and limited savings,
any option but to     workers—not being employees—see no
                      benefit from this scheme.34
                                                               meaning that they have a reduced
                                                               ability to withstand the negative effects
continue working      Besides the current impacts of the
                                                               of the crisis.

during the health     COVID-19 pandemic on platform            To protect this vulnerable contingent of
                      workers in Germany, another aspect       our societies, it is now more important
crisis.”              that bears mention concerns the crisis   than ever to hold all platforms
                      of jobs and work which is unfolding      accountable for the way they treat their
                      alongside the health crisis. According   workers, and ensure that standards of
                      to the ILO, the pandemic could result    fair work are not undermined in this
                      in a devastating worldwide loss of 195   period of crisis.
18   |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

Impact
and Next Steps
The scores presented in this report are          Our first and most direct pathway to
                                                 improving working conditions in the
the result of a one-year pilot project           platform economy is by engaging

in Germany. We will continue our                 directly with the platforms we rate.
                                                 In other countries, we have found a
research into the Germany platform               number of platforms to be eager to
                                                 work with us to improve their Fairwork
economy, updating our ratings on an              scores. Fairwork’s engagement with
                                                 platforms in Germany has already
annual basis. As Fairwork’s reach and            yielded important contributions to

visibility increases, we see four avenues        improving working conditions for
                                                 platform workers.
for contributing to improvements in the          For instance, Zenjob has amended
conditions faced by German platform              its General Agreement with workers
                                                 to formally indicate its willingness to
workers.                                         encourage workers to form a collective
                                                 body and engage in negotiations
                                                 with it. Both Zenjob and InStaff
                                                 have welcomed our suggestions on
                                                 codifying and institutionalising anti-
                                                 discrimination policies, incorporating
                                                 into their terms of service the anti-
                                                 discrimination and anti-harassment
                                                 guidelines recommended by the
                                                 federal and regional agencies. Zenjob
                                                 have also begun to use their business
                                                 data to develop their own localised
                                                 anti-discrimination strategy. These
                                                 first achievements point to greater
                                                 possibilities in the future, testifying to
                                                 the effectiveness of Fairwork’s rating
                                                 system in incentivising platforms to
                                                 change their policies, and also setting
                                                 the bar for other platforms operating
                                                 under the same legal and regulatory
                                                 context.

                                                 Fairwork’s theory of change draws
                                                 on the understanding that human
                                                 empathy is a powerful force. Given
                                                 enough information, many consumers
                                                 will be intentional about the platforms
                                                 they choose to interact with. Our
                                                 yearly ratings give consumers the
                                                 ability to choose the highest scoring
                                                 platform operating in a sector, thus
                 Fairwork’s Pathways to Change   contributing to put pressure on
                                                 platforms to improve their working
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                       19

Fairwork’s Principles: Continuous
Worker-guided Evolution

                                                              Fairwork
                                                              Principles

                                                     Changes to Principles
                                                 (agreed at annual Fairwork symposium that
                                                      brings together all country teams)

      Periodic International                       Annual Country-level                        Yearly Fieldwork
           Stakeholder                                 Stakeholder                             across Fairwork
          Consultations                               Consultations                               Countries
     (involving gig workers’, workers’            (involving gig workers’, workers’           (involving surveys and in-depth
     organisations, cooperatives, etc)            organisations, cooperatives, etc)              interviews of gig workers)

                                                  Ongoing Advocacy Efforts
                                                 (involving campaigns for worker rights and
                                                     support to workers’ organisations)

   conditions and their scores. In this           Services, and is included in the Federal     needs. Through continual engagement
   way, we enable consumers to be                 Government’s Digital Implementation          with workers’ representatives and
   workers’ allies in the fight for a fairer      Strategy.37 We will continue our policy      advocates, we aim to support workers
   platform economy. Beyond individual            advocacy efforts in the coming years         in exercising their rights.
   consumer choices, our scores                   to help ensure that workers’ needs and
   can help inform the procurement,               platforms’ business imperatives are          A key challenge in the platform
   investment and partnership policies            effectively balanced.                        economy is that workers are often
   of large organisations. They can serve                                                      isolated, atomised, and placed
   as a reference for institutions and            Finally, and most importantly, workers       in competition with one another.
   companies who want to ensure they              and workers’ organisations are at            The platform work model presents
   are supporting fair labour practices.          the core of Fairwork’s model. Our            challenges for workers to connect
                                                  principles have been developed,              and create networks of solidarity.38
   We also engage with policy makers              and are continually refined, in close        But many of the workers we have
   and government bodies to advocate              consultation with workers and their          interviewed are either already
   for extending appropriate legal                representatives. Our fieldwork               starting to organise or have said they
   protections to all platform workers,           data, combined with feedback                 would want to join a labour union if
   irrespective of their legal classification.    from workshops and consultations             one existed. For example, we have
   Fairwork Germany is endorsed by                involving workers, inform how we             observed that CleverShuttle workers
   Elke Breitenbach, Berlin’s Senator             systematically evolve the Fairwork           have started conversations to exert
   for Integration, Labour and Social             principles to remain in line with their      their legal right to establish a works
20   |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

 council in Berlin, with the platform       implementing changes to protect
 actively supporting their efforts. Our     their workers. Workers who find their
 principles can provide a starting point    jobs through platforms are ultimately
 for envisioning a fairer future of work,   still workers, and there is no basis
 and setting out a pathway to realise       for denying them the key rights and
 it. Principle Five in particular, on the   protections that their counterparts in
 importance of fair representation, is a    the formal sector enjoy. Our scores
 crucial way in which we aim to support     show that the platform economy,
 workers to assert their collective         as we know it today, already takes        “There is nothing
 agency.                                    many forms, with some platforms
                                            displaying greater concern for workers’   inevitable about
 There is nothing inevitable about poor
 working conditions in the German
                                            needs than others. This means that
                                            we do not need to accept low pay,
                                                                                      poor working
 platform economy. Notwithstanding
 their claims to the contrary, platforms
                                            poor conditions, inequity, and a lack
                                            of agency and voice as the norm. We
                                                                                      conditions in the
 have substantial control over the
 nature of the jobs that they mediate.
                                            hope that our work—by highlighting        platform economy.”
                                            the contours of today’s platform
 That power is especially evident in        economy—helps paint a picture of what
 the context of the ongoing COVID-19        it could become.
 crisis, with many platforms rapidly
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                   21

Appendix:

Fairwork Scoring
System
 The five Principles of Fairwork were       Each Fairwork Principle is divided       evidence is available that meets a given
 developed through an extensive             into two thresholds. Accordingly, for    threshold, the platform is not awarded
 literature review of published             each Principle, the scoring system       that point.
 research on job quality, stakeholder       allows one ‘basic point’ to be awarded
 meetings at UNCTAD and the ILO             corresponding to the first threshold,    A platform can therefore receive a
 in Geneva (involving platform              and an additional ‘advanced point’       maximum Fairwork Score of ten points.
 operators, policymakers, trade unions,     to be awarded corresponding to the       Fairwork scores are updated on a
 and academics), and in-country             second threshold (see Table 1). The      yearly basis. For example, Fairwork’s
 stakeholder meetings held in India         advanced point under each Principle      South Africa 2020 scores – which were
 (Bangalore and Ahmedabad), South           can only be awarded if the basic point   published in March 2020 – were based
 Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg)        for that Principle has been awarded.     on data pertaining to the 12 months
 and Germany (Berlin). This document        The thresholds specify the evidence      between March 2019 and March 2020,
 explains the Fairwork Scoring System.      required for a platform to receive       and are valid until March 2021.
                                            a given point. Where no verifiable

Table 1 Fairwork Scoring System

Principle                                            Basic point              Advanced point                     Total

         Fair Pay                                         1            +             1             =               2

         Fair Conditions                                  1            +             1             =               2

         Fair Contracts                                   1            +             1             =               2

         Fair Management                                  1            +             1             =               2

         Fair Representation                              1            +             1             =               2

                                          Maximum possible Fairwork Score
                                                                                                               10
22     |   Fairwork Germany Ratings 2020

                                                  and worker hours for any three-month
                                                  period over the previous twelve
                                                  months.

 Principle 1:
                                                  Threshold 1.2 – Pays the                      Principle 2:
                                                  minimum wage plus costs (one
 Fair Pay                                         additional point)
                                                                                                Fair Conditions
 Threshold 1.1 – Pays at least                    Workers earn at least the local               Threshold 2.1 – Mitigates task-
 the local minimum wage (one                      minimum wage after work-related               specific risks (one point)
 point)                                           costs, or there is a policy which
                                                                                                There are policies to protect workers
                                                  requires payment above this level
                                                                                                from risks that arise from the processes
 Irrespective of the employment status
                                                  The threshold for the minimum wage            of work
 of the worker, workers earn at least
 a local minimum wage, or there is a              plus costs varies between different
                                                                                                This threshold requires the platform
 policy which requires payment above              kinds of platform work. In order to
                                                                                                to ensure that there are safe working
 this level                                       establish a threshold, the platform is
                                                                                                conditions, and that potential harms
                                                  asked to provide an estimate for work-
                                                                                                are minimised.44 For 2.1, this means
 The threshold for 1.1 is based on the            related costs, which are then checked
                                                                                                identifying the task-specific risks
 level for a local minimum wage.39                (by the Fairwork team) through worker
                                                                                                that are involved for the worker,
 Workers on the platform must earn                interviews.43 To be awarded this point,
                                                                                                for example, if a vehicle is used, or
 more than the minimum wage rate in               there must be either:
                                                                                                there is interaction with customers.
 their working time,40 and this can be
                                                  •      A policy that guarantees workers       The specific practices leading to the
 evidenced by either:
                                                         earn at least the local minimum        awarding of this point may vary by the
 •     A policy that guarantees the                      wage plus costs; or                    type of work and the risks involved.
       workers receive at least the local
                                                  •      Evidence from the platform that        To be awarded a point for 2.1, the
       minimum wage in their working
                                                         workers earn at least the local        platform must be able to demonstrate
       time;or
                                                         minimum wage plus costs.               that:
 •     The provision of summary
                                                  If the platform has completed Table 2,        •    There are policies or practices in
       statistics of transaction data.
                                                  the mean weekly earnings minus the                 place that protect workers’ health
 In the case of (b), the platform is asked        estimated work-related costs must be               and safety from task-specific risks
 to submit a weekly earnings table (see           above the local minimum wage (see
 Table 2) that averages worker earnings           Table 2 below).

     Table 2 Weekly earnings table

                                                                                      X to
      Weekly earnings                                                      2X
                                                                                    (X+(X/2))

      Active hours less than 40 hours/week (part-time)                     %           %                    %                 %

      Active hours between 40 and 48 hours/week (full-time)                %           %                    %                 %

      Active hours more than 48 hours/week (full-time plus overtime)       %           %                    %                 %

     Note: X = the local minimum wage, calculated at 45 hours per week. This row is filled
     out by the Fairwork team, before submitting it to the platform for completion.42
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                      23

Threshold 2.2 – Actively                 form.45 Platforms must demonstrate          To be awarded a point for 3.2, the
improves working conditions              that the contracts are accessible           platform must be able to demonstrate
                                         for workers at all times, whether           that:
(one additional point)
                                         through the app itself or direct
                                         communication with the worker.              •   The employment status of the
There are proactive measures to
                                         This is necessary for workers to                workers is accurately defined
protect and promote the health and
                                         understand the requirements of their            in the contract issued by the
safety of workers or improve working
                                         work. The contracts should be easily            platform; and,
conditions
                                         understandable by workers, and
                                                                                     •   There is no unresolved dispute
For 2.2, the threshold is higher,        available in the language/languages
                                                                                         about the nature of the
involving practices that go beyond       commonly spoken by the workers on
                                                                                         employment relationship; or,
addressing the task-specific risks       the platform.
addressed by 2.1. This means a                                                       •   The self-employed status
policy that goes beyond ameliorating     To be awarded a point for 3.1, the
                                                                                         of the worker is adequately
the direct task-specific risks, by       platform must be able to demonstrate
                                                                                         demonstrated and free from
promoting greater health and safety or   all of the following:
                                                                                         unreasonable clauses.
improvements in working conditions,
                                         •   The contract is written in clear and
beyond what is specified by local
                                             comprehensible language that
regulations for employment. For
                                             the worker could be expected to
example, an insurance policy that
                                             understand; and,
covers workplace accidents would
meet the threshold for 2.1, while one    •   The contract is issued in the
that also covers the worker or their         language/languages spoken by
family outside of work would meet            workers on the platform; and,           Principle 4:
2.2. As policies and practices may be
focused on the specific form of work,    •   The contract is available for
                                                                                     Fair Management
the examples that meet the threshold         workers to access at all times.
                                                                                     Threshold 4.1 – There is due
may vary by the type of work.
                                         Threshold 3.2 – The contract                process for decisions affecting
To be awarded a point for 2.2, the
                                         genuinely reflects the nature of            workers (one point)
platform must be able to demonstrate:
                                         the employment relationship                 There is a documented process
•   There is a documented policy (or     (one additional point)                      through which workers can be heard,
    policies) that promotes the health                                               can appeal decisions affecting them,
    and safety of workers or improves    The party contracting with the worker       and be informed of the reasons
    working conditions, going beyond     must be subject to local law and must       behind those decisions. There is a
    addressing task-specific risks       be identified in the contract. If workers   clear channel of communication to
                                         are genuinely self-employed, the terms      workers involving the ability to appeal
                                         of service are free of clauses which        management decisions or deactivation
                                         unreasonably exclude liability on the
                                         part of the platform                        The threshold for 4.1 involves a
                                                                                     platform demonstrating the existence
                                         The threshold for 3.2 involves the          of clearly defined processes for
                                         platforms demonstrating that the            communication between workers and
Principle 3:                             contract issued to workers accurately       the platform. This includes access by
                                         describes the relationship between
Fair Contracts                           the platform, the workers, and the
                                                                                     workers to a platform representative,
                                                                                     and the ability to discuss decisions
                                         users. In the case where there is an        made about the worker. Platforms must
Threshold 3.1 – Clear terms              unresolved dispute over the nature of       be able to evidence that information
and conditions are available             the employment relationship, a point        about the processes is also easily
(one point)                              will not be awarded.                        accessible to workers.
The terms and conditions are             If workers are genuinely self-              To be awarded a point for 4.1, the
transparent, concise, and provided to    employed,46 platforms must be able to       platform must be able to demonstrate
workers in an accessible form            demonstrate that the contract is free       all of the following:
                                         of clauses that unreasonably exclude
The threshold for 3.1 involves           liability on the part of the platform       •   The contract includes a
demonstrating that the terms and         for harm caused to the workers in the           documented channel for workers
conditions of the contract issued to     course of carrying out their duties.            to communicate with a designated
workers are available in an accessible
                                                                                         representative of the platform; and,
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