On 23 October 2024 Directive (EU) 2024/2831 of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving working conditions in platform work was formally adopted. It was published in the Official Journal of the EU and is the legal basis for changes to national law in every member state, including the Slovak Republic.
The directive is the result of years of negotiation in the European Union and a response to the rapid growth of the platform economy. Thousands of couriers, drivers and other workers using apps such as Bolt, Wolt and Foodora have faced legal uncertainty, unstable income and a lack of social protection.
Key provisions of Directive (EU) 2024/2831
1. Legal presumption of employment
The directive introduces a rebuttable presumption of a contractual relationship. If a digital platform directs and controls the work, for example by setting pay, quality standards or monitoring performance, the worker is legally treated as an employee. If the platform says the person is self-employed (SZČO), it is for the platform to prove otherwise.
2. Regulation of algorithmic management
The rules strictly prohibit automated account blocks, suspensions or cuts in pay without direct human involvement. Every significant decision that affects a courier’s or driver’s work and income must be reviewed, reasoned and confirmed in writing by a natural person, an employee of the platform.
3. Transparency of data and algorithms
Platforms must now give workers and their representatives clear information on how the automated systems work. Workers must know the criteria by which the algorithm assigns orders, how it calculates pay and how it assesses their performance.
4. Data protection and health and safety
The directive strengthens privacy. Platforms may not process workers’ emotional state, private conversations or data from times when they are not logged into the app. It also sets clear requirements for health and safety at work.
“The adoption of the European directive is a turning point. The time when apps decided couriers’ fate with no responsibility and no way to appeal is ending. Our union will actively watch the transposition in Slovakia.”
— OZ PDP leadership
EU member states must transpose Directive (EU) 2024/2831 into national law by 2 December 2026. OZ PDP will take part in the interdepartmental comment procedure in order to press for the strongest protection of workers in Slovakia.