Gig worker
[4] In many countries, the legal classification of gig workers is still being debated, with companies classifying their workers as "independent contractors", while organized labor advocates have been lobbying for them to be classified as "employees", which would legally require companies to provide the full suite of employee benefits like time-and-a-half for overtime, paid sick time, employer-provided health care, bargaining rights, and unemployment insurance, among others.
As a result, on-demand platforms based on digital technology have created jobs and employment forms that are differentiated from existing offline transactions by the level of accessibility, convenience and price competitiveness.
[6] A 2016 study by the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that, across America and England, there were a total of 162 million people that were involved in some type of independent work.
[13] Many factors go into a desirable job, and the best employers focus on the aspects of work that are most attractive to today's increasingly competitive and fluid labor force.
[14] Coordination of jobs through an on-demand company reduces entry and operating costs for providers and allows workers' participation to be more transitory in gig markets (i.e., they have greater flexibility around work hours).
Employment in the gig economy entails receiving compensation for one key performance indicator, which, for example, is defined as parcels delivered or taxi lifts conducted.
[7] These mechanisms of control can result in low pay, social isolation, working unsocial and irregular hours, overwork, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.
[22] The report found that in 2016, 9% of the world's population worked greater than 55 hours weekly, and this was more prevalent among men, as well as workers in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions.
[27] The platform economy has been described as conferring a professional status that allows women to participate in paid work without disrupting social hierarchies and while managing household and childcare responsibilities.
The advent of home service providers and beauticians within the gig economy has led to the formalizing and feminization of casual labor, dubbed “pink collar work".
[28] In October 2021, India’s first women-led gig workers’ strike was led by 100 women agitating outside the office of Urban Company in Gurugram, Haryana, a platform that provides at-home services, protesting “low wages, high commissions and poor safety conditions”.
[35] Most notably, Uber now requires drivers to complete anti-sexual violence training and their app now includes a 'panic button' feature that connects users to 911 dispatchers, however these measures are widely believed to be insufficient.
For instance, independent contractors are not covered under the provisions of the United States' Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
[41] Surge pricing times may conflict with non-work commitments like caregiving responsibilities, creating a trade-off between flexibility and higher earnings.
93% of the Indian population is employed in the informal economy, which is dependent on local linguistic, ethnic and regional dynamics and networks.
[47] Class and caste identities that have historically been excluded from the formal labor market have utilized the gig economy as a means to escape discrimination.
[48] However, the term "platform paternalism" has emerged to describe the perpetuation of caste and class hierarchies, trapping workers in jobs with very little security and no potential for long-term growth.
[50] BookMyBai, a platform service that helps people hire house-maids and caretakers, has provisions to request workers from specific geographic regions and religions.
[52] Some of the demands of these unions include security benefits, higher base fares and protection against exploitation by aggregator companies.
In response, the Indian parliament passed new laws guaranteeing social security and occupational health and safety of gig workers in 2020.
[53] In its 2021 report, NITI Aayog also recommended fiscal incentives including tax breaks or startup grants for companies with about one-third of their workforce as women and people with disabilities.
[54] On 24 July 2023, the Rajasthan legislative assembly approved a groundbreaking bill that provides social security benefits to gig workers, making it the first of its kind in India.
[61] In most EU states, the rules governing contributions and entitlements of social protection schemes are still largely based on full-time open-ended contracts between a worker and a single employer.
[64] The Employment Appeals Tribunal ruled that Hermes' couriers are "workers" with certain statutory benefits including minimum wage, rest periods and holiday pay.
[71][72] According to IPEA, a government-led research agency, it was estimated that in October 2021, gig workers numbered 1.4 million people in Brazil.
The rule would replace a previous one enacted under the Trump administration that made it more difficult for a gig worker/independent contractor to be classified as an employee.
The highest percentage of Americans who report having earned money at least once via gig work found through an online platform are those between the ages of 18 and 29, at 30%.
However, AEI also cites boredom as a significant reason for participation, with 96% of gig workers over 65 claiming they feel more fulfilled in life when they maintain a job they enjoy.
[80] In 2019, the California legislature passed a law (AB 5) requiring all companies to re-classify their gig-workers from "independent contractors" to "employees".
In response to AB 5, app-based ride-sharing and delivery companies Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates created a ballot initiative (2020 California Proposition 22), which won with 60% of the vote and exempted them from providing the full suite of mandated employee benefits (time-and-a-half for overtime, paid sick time, employer-provided health care, bargaining rights, and unemployment insurance - among others) while instead giving drivers new protections of:
