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Regulating work in the gig economy: What are the options?

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Stewart

    (The University of Adelaide, Australia)

  • Jim Stanford

    (Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute, Australia; McMaster University, Canada)

Abstract

Paid work associated with digital platform businesses (in taxi, delivery, maintenance and other functions) embodies features which complicate the application of traditional labour regulations and employment standards. This article reviews the extent of this type of work in Australia, and its main characteristics. It then considers the applicability of existing employment regulations to these ‘gig’ jobs, citing both Australian and international legislation and case law. There is considerable uncertainty regarding the scope of traditional regulations, minimum standards and remedies in the realm of irregular digitally mediated work. Regulators and policymakers should consider how to strengthen and expand the regulatory framework governing gig work. The article notes five major options in this regard: enforcement of existing laws; clarifying or expanding definitions of ‘employment’; creating a new category of ‘independent worker’; creating rights for ‘workers’, not employees; and reconsidering the concept of an ‘employer’. We review the pros and cons of these approaches and urge regulators to be creative and ambitious in better protecting the minimum standards and conditions of workers in these situations.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Stewart & Jim Stanford, 2017. "Regulating work in the gig economy: What are the options?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 420-437, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:28:y:2017:i:3:p:420-437
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304617722461
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jim Stanford, 2017. "The resurgence of gig work: Historical and theoretical perspectives," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 382-401, September.
    2. Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 2016. "The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015," NBER Working Papers 22667, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Sundararajan, Arun, 2016. "The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262034573, April.
    4. Wayne Lewchuk, 2017. "Precarious jobs: Where are they, and how do they affect well-being?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 402-419, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digital work; gig jobs; labour regulation; precarity; risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J88 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Public Policy

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