Niklas Selberg

Project summary

The gig economy and Swedish labour law – the legal regulation of platform work and self-employment: work or “gigs”?

What challenges does the emerging gig economy pose for Swedish labour law? New forms of work – such as on-demand work arranged through apps such as Uber and self-employment through so-called umbrella companies, where individuals can effectively “hire their employer” through companies such as CoolCompany – raise new questions for the traditional regulation of the labour market.

 

Fundamental concepts in labour law, such as those of the employee and the employer, are being challenged by changes in the demand for labour. Concepts that were previously considered relatively stable are now undergoing a process of change.

 

The project examines a number of questions with the aim of determining how existing labour law can be applied to the emerging gig economy.

 

New forms of doing business raise new questions in areas such as employment protection, trade union organisation, health and safety at work, working time and leisure, protection against discrimination, and employers’ managerial prerogative.

 

How can work in the new economy be regulated so that workers’ need for legal protection can coexist with new business models and new technologies, including app-based platforms?

 

How well do established concepts of labour law apply to the new economy?

 

In which areas are new solutions needed, and where are the existing rules sufficient?

 

Legal research in the field of labour law has an important role to play in describing and analysing how Swedish labour law responds to the emergence of the gig economy.