Introduction A good decade ago, Transnational Company Agreements (TCAs) were a hot topic in Europe. In the broader context of globalisation, they were hailed as an interesting step forward in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), nowadays called Corporate Sustainability. However, since 2016 discussions about TCAs faded and ever since it seems as if…
Formally adopted by the Council of the EU in May 2024, the AI Act[1] aims to enhance the competitiveness of the Single Market, while ensuring the protection of health, safety, and fundamental rights. This comprehensive regulation impacts a wide range of stakeholders including manufacturers, deployers,[2] providers of AI models and systems, who must inventory their…
Introduction Anyone who comes in contact with the European Union (EU) legislative process will have noticed the EU and its Member States shifting into high gear to improve sustainability in their global value chains. The prime example is the recent hard-fought battle for the adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), which was…
The need for protections beyond the contractual status The proposal for a directive “on improving working conditions in platform work”[1] is part of a broad reformist design, aimed at balancing the needs for competitiveness in the digital economy with the protection of fundamental rights. There are many interconnected legislative tracks, including the marketing and use…
On 13 December 2023, the Hungarian Supreme Court (Curia) ruled on the classification of platform work relations between a food delivery platform (Platform) and a delivery driver. This is the first platform work ruling in Hungary, and also in the Central and Eastern European region. The Curia stated that the platform worker is self-employed; therefore,…
“Hardening” process of Due Diligence The proposal for an EU directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (Brussels, 23.2.2022, COM(2022) 71 final) aims to impose sustainable production models on multinationals along the supply chains. A provisional agreement was reached on 15 March 2024. The proposal represents the culmination of a regulatory process of Corporate Social Responsibility…
War and oppression plague the world. Peaceful relations among states still seems like a distant dream. From a labour lawyer’s perspective, the quest for an international legal order among states parallels the historical development of the legal order among labour and capital on the labour market. In the purpose of fueling a discussion on the…
Introduction: the need for a new employment presumption The Portuguese Labour Code was recently amended through Act 13/2023, of 3 April (known as the “Decent Work Agenda”), which entered into force on 1 May 2023. This reform was driven by several concerns, namely the precarious situation of platform workers. And, precisely, one of its innovative…
Introduction: Amazon and its warehouses Many of the products stored in Amazon’s Barcelona BCN3 warehouse can be ordered by a customer in Milan and received within 24 hours. In fact, several flights a day operated by Amazon Air depart from Barcelona-El Prat (Terminal 2B), to land in Milan Malpensa and reach the Amazon centre in…
Not really working On 21 November 2023, the UK Supreme Court delivered its long-awaited decision in the Deliveroo case. The judgment, concluded that the Deliveroo riders organised and represented by trade union IWGB were not in an ‘employment relationship’ for the purposes of Article 11 of the ECHR. Fatal to this claim was, in particular,…
