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13 Eur. Lab. L.J. 3 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/eulalaj13 and id is 1 raw text is: Special Issue Contribution E L L J European Labour Law Journal 2022, Vol. 13(1) 3 G uest Editorial © The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/20319525211062550 journals.sagepub.com/home/ell *SAGE This issue combines the contributions to the annual conference on 'Exploring ways to improve working conditions of platform workers: the role of EU labour law' that was hosted by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission under the umbrella of the European Centre of Expertise (ECE) in the field of labour law, employment and labour market policies. The conference addressed the possible legal responses to the new challenges raised by platform work, focusing on the evolution of the notion of worker in the context of the platform economy. It also provided an extra-EU perspective, analysing the latest regulatory devel- opments on platform work in the United States. In his contribution, Antonio Aloisi discusses how existing and new labour law provisions at national and EU level can improve the working conditions of platform workers. As far as Member States are concerned, the author highlights recent developments in France, Spain and Italy. With regard to EU law, he calls for an adaptive and targeted approach in the application of the existing directives on atypical employment. Finally, he makes a number of concrete proposals to improve the protection of platform workers at the European level. In his paper, Gerrard Boot sug- gests a multi-level solution to protect platform workers. In his view, a broad(er) definition of the employment contract and a presumption of the existence of an employment contract are not a panacea. Additional protection is required. Jeremias Adams-Prassl takes a comprehensive look at existing regulations and their potential to address the challenges associated with the use of auto- mated systems in the workplace. In doing so, he identifies key areas for further legal development, highlighting the need for coherence between different regulatory systems and assigning an import- ant role to social partners in shaping key standards and monitoring their implementation. A report on the situation of platform workers in the US is provided in the paper of Veena B. Dubal. She describes the legal and regulatory history and, in particular, the recent history of platform work in California, and places it in the context of the experiences of platform workers, whose situation is characterised above all by the uncertainties of their legal status. Finally, Miriam Kullmann dis- cusses - not least from a comparative law perspective - the advantages of introducing a rebuttable legal presumption or a reversal of the burden of proof in the legal qualification of platform employ- ment, but also points out the limits of these instruments. All contributions enrich the discussion on improving the employment conditions of platform workers in many ways and are recommended reading for all interested parties. Bernd Waas, Professor of Labour Law and Civil Law at Goethe University Frankfurt ECE Coordinator, member of the ELLJ editorial board