The Uber case and gig-individuals against the backdrop of the gig-economy: Dilemmas between labour law and techno-law

Abstract

The “Uber workers” and, more in general, individuals deployed in the platforms, overall considered the “gig economy”, have already been the subject matter of multifarious dicta in Italy. However, not only are these court decisions contradictory with each other, but also they are quite nebulous in their underpinning reasoning. Furthermore, there are a few inconsistencies with entrenched principles of the Italian legal system, particularly in the area of labour law. By contract, across the “Channel”, the Uber workers have been “dissected”, from a legal perspective, in a very recent decision of the UK Supreme Court. On such a background, it is becoming vital to ascertain the legal characterisation of “gig individuals”, also in the light of a prospective EU legal framework where this new category could be legislated. Bearing this in mind, seemingly the imminent EU regulation will engender a challenging, yet stimulating, comparative analysis with the common law (and its traditional “tests” of the contract of employment), where it still arduous to envisage any legislation in this micro-area of labour law.