Social protection of workers on digital labor platforms: Approaches to addressing the issue

The problem of social protection for employees of digital labor platforms is actively discussed worldwide, yet balanced solutions that harmoniously reconcile the interests of the state, business entities, consumers, and platform workers have not been found. The effectiveness of these efforts largely depends on accurately classifying persons performing platform work as either employees or independent contractors (self-employed, implementing partners), since their status determines the scope of their social protection. Individuals under employment contracts typically receive more extensive and stable social guarantees than those engaged through civil law contracts. However, platform employment is diverse, and digital labor platforms that act as active intermediaries in local labor markets (for example, taxi services, delivery services, home and home services) blur the boundaries between labor and civil law relations by transforming the status of workers. Legally independent contractors may, in practice, be subject to direct control by the platform through algorithmic management. This blurring makes distinguishing self-employment from disguised employment a pressing scientific and practical challenge, and a prerequisite for developing appropriate social protections regardless of employment form. This article explores possible approaches to solving this problem: judicial reclassification of employment status, establishing presumption of employment relationships, and introducing hybrid employment models into legislation. Examples from various jurisdictions regulating platform work (USA, European Union, Ireland, Spain) illustrate these methods. The study’s relevance is understood by recent Russian federal legislation adopting a civil law model for organizing work on digital platforms. International experience broadens the perspective, highlights advantages and challenges of differing approaches, and guides future efforts to find balanced regulation of platform employment.