FairWork’s 12 Policy Proposals for Fairer Platform Work in the UK

With the UK general election scheduled for tomorrow, Fair Work has proposed a set of recommendations for the incoming government to work towards fairer and more sustainable platform work.

Point 5 demands the establishment of platform co-ops, directly connecting to the 2016 policy directives of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party and the current directives of Starmer’s Labour Party.

“Incentivise shared ownership models and require worker representation on boards. Cooperatively owned platforms have the potential to deliver fairer and more equitable in-work outcomes.“

See below for details.

Fair Work policy recommendations:

Facilitate reporting on platform labour through major labour force surveys and require platforms to share data about their workforce.

Legislate to close loopholes in employment status by providing universal workers’ rights.

Ensure adequate enforcement of employment protection, for example, by creating a Workers’ Protection Agency or implementing greater penalties for illegal practices and non-compliance.

Introduce the right to both sectoral and company collective bargaining, to account for the challenges generated by the monopsonistic and dependent nature of most platform work.

Incentivise shared ownership models and require worker representation on boards. Cooperatively owned platforms have the potential to deliver fairer and more equitable in-work outcomes.

Ensure that workers without a physical workplace have access to toilets and rest facilities.

Ensure tip, location, and distance transparency.

Workers must be given meaningful tools to understand how algorithmic decisions are made, how they impact the work they do, and how they shape the opportunities they have.

Require that platforms do not subject workers to excessive data collection practices. Workers should be informed about the data that is being collected about them, and platforms should be required to apply the principle of data minimisation (collecting the minimum amount of personal data required to fulfill a legitimate purpose) in their collection processes.

Address common unfair practices in contractual clauses.

Require platforms to ensure due process for disciplinary actions, including suspension and dismissal. Any disciplinary decision concerning workers should be taken with human oversight.

Introduce supply chain due diligence to require UK-based companies to monitor and report on social and environmental standards in their supply chain, creating greater accountability.