The EU extends minimum labor rights to transport workers, like Uber

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

The institutions of the European Union have reached an agreement to extend a number of minimum labor rights to workers with very short-term or part-time contracts, as well as to the so-called "non-conventional" jobs, including on-demand work, by platforms such as Uber or Deliveroo.

In particular, the new rules align the labor conditions directive with the case law of the EU Court of Justice (EUT), so as to include domestic workers, part-time marginal workers, very short duration and new forms of employment. Until now, these categories were excluded in many cases.

The agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (the countries) is still preliminary and must be formally confirmed by both institutions. Once approved, the European directive on working conditions will include all these categories of work as long as the threshold of three hours of work per week is exceeded and an average of 12 hours of work in four weeks.

In order to cover the new forms of employment, the agreement establishes a specific set of rights. Among them, workers on demand are given the right to know by default a few hours and days of reference in which they will work. The employee may refuse, without consequences, to perform a specific task outside the established hours and will have the right to be compensated if the employer cancels it out of time.

In addition, Member States will have to take measures to prevent abuses in these "non-conventional" jobs. These actions could include limits on the use and duration of a contract or a "rebuttable" presumption of the existence of a contract with a minimum number of hours paid.

The employer, on the other hand, may not prohibit, penalize or prevent their workers from accepting a job of another company if the new schedule is set outside the working hours set for the first.

The revision of the directive adds rules on transparency so that all workers are informed about the essential aspects of their employment, such as duties, duration, remuneration or hours of work no later than seven days after starting the activity.

It also states that the probationary periods can not exceed six months or will be "proportionate" to the expected duration of the contract in case of temporary contracts. The probationary period can not be extended if the functions of the same employee are renewed.

The Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Marianne Thyssen, has welcomed the agreement and called on the two EU institutions to confirm it "quickly" because "it will have a very concrete and tangible positive effect for some 200 million workers across the EU."

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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