Platform Work Is About To Have New Rules

13.07.2026 10:52

Food delivery, transportation, cleaning, babysitting. These and many other services can now be arranged through apps and websites. Digital platforms have become a part of everyday life.

The European Union responded to the growing number of individuals working through online platforms by adopting Directive of the European Parliament and Council No. 2024/2831 effective as of October 23^rd, 2024, which seeks to improve working conditions for platform workers and provide this vulnerable cohort, which has until now had weak bargaining power, with stronger protection.

The directive is to be transposed into the legal system of the Czech Republic by December 2^nd, 2026.

The proposed transposition (the Platform Work Act and the related amending act) is currently in the legislative process. The anticipated effective date (December 2^nd, 2026, and January 1^st, 2027) seeks to adhere to the prescribed deadline.

What Changes Will the New Act Bring?

The legal regulation of platform work has two main purposes. To improve the working conditions of platform workers and to provide them with stronger personal data protection, especially where there are possible negative consequences of algorithmic control and automated decision-making.

Improvements to personal data protection include the platform workers’ right to information about the processing of personal data, the prohibition of the processing of certain, especially sensitive, data, the right for workers to express themselves within the framework of a data protection impact assessment, a partially enhanced right to data portability, and, most importantly, protection against the negative consequences of algorithmic control (automated monitoring systems and automated decision-making systems).

Essential to the improvement of working conditions and the legal status of platform workers is the introduction of a presumption of legal employment of the worker by the platform, foreseen in the directive. According to this directive, the relationship between the platform and the worker should automatically be regarded as a legal work contract, with the platform having the right to rebut the presumption, whereby rebuttal of the presumption will result in the status of the relationship between the worker and the platform to be that of two entrepreneurs; in such a case, the platform worker will have the status of a self-employed person.

The positive consequences arising from this presumption are obvious.

Changes Will Also Affect the Labor Code

The draft of the Platform Work Act is accompanied by an amending act, which aims at modifying a number of other legal regulations.

One amendment, for example, proposes changing the definition of employment (“dependent work”), and illegal and undeclared work, another introduces new obligations in the field of occupational health and safety, and yet another proposes new elements to the Code of Civil Procedure.

In the event of any questions regarding the current regulation, do not hesitate to contact us.

This update was prepared by:
doc. JUDr. Jakub Morávek, Ph.D.
Felix a spol. advokátní kancelář, s.r.o.