Luxembourg plans to introduce a Bill to the parliament in early October for the transposition of the Platform Work Directive.
The government has been in discussions with social partners since 10 February, when the draft Bill was first released.
Responding to parliamentary questions in July, labour minister Marc Spautz said that there had been “several discussions with social partners, both in bilateral meetings and within the Standing Committee on Labour and Employment (CPTE)”, and that they were aiming for a transposition “tailored to practical realities”, with a bill set to be introduced “at the beginning of the final quarter of this year”. Spautz went on to explain that the issues under discussion with social partners included the exact basis for triggering the presumption, the role of intermediaries in the platform economy and determining “the competent jurisdiction in the event of a dispute”.
The 10 February draft Bill included a legal presumption of employment which can be triggered based on 13 criteria. Three out of 13 are needed to trigger the presumption. The criteria are as follows:
– the Platform determines or caps the remuneration;
– the Platform supervises the performance and quality of the work;
– the Platform holds itself out on the market as offering the services or works;
– the Platform sets the conditions of access to the services;
– the Platform receives payment for the service or work to be rendered or rendered by the individual;
– the Platform restricts the freedom to organise work (working hours, absences, duration of work);
– the Platform issues a classification of individuals;
– the Platform manages communications with the beneficiaries;
– the Platform may exclude the worker;
– the Platform restricts the development of an independent client base or the performance of work for third parties;
– the Platform limits the latitude to accept or refuse tasks;
– the Platform limits recourse to subcontractors or substitutes;
– the Platform imposes mandatory rules regarding the performance of work, appearance or conduct.
The Bill establishes a system of joint and several liability in the case that intermediary firms are deployed.
The Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM) can carry out an administrative procedure when they believe three of the criteria is triggered, meaning that it is not necessary to go through the labour courts. However, if ITM do not believe three of the criteria are met, any employment re-classification case would have to go to the labour courts.
In case of infringements with the law, fines of between €1,000 and €25,000 can be levied. Fines can be doubled for repeat offences. In the case of a serious infringement, the director of ITM can issue a stop work order.