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T H E G I G E C O N O M Y T H E B Y W O R D 03 K E Y F I N D I N G S » The gig economy is a worldwide phenomenon, but its development is held back in some countries due to technological, cultural or regulatory factors. » Most countries draw a clear distinction between those who are employed (i.e. treated as employees) and those who are not. » There is a widespread commonality in the tests used to determine whether an individual is an employee. A central feature is usually the degree to which the individual is subordinated to – or under the control of – the 'employer'. » It can be difficult to fit gig-economy workers into the traditional categories for employment status, given the flexibility of their work and the autonomy that they seemingly enjoy. As a result, most countries report that gig economy workers do not enjoy the rights and protections granted to employees. » The response of national governments to the rise of the gig economy is driven as much by concern over taxation as the rights of gig-economy workers. » Nevertheless, an increasing number of countries are looking at creating an employment status somewhere between the traditional divide between employees and the self-employed. » Government responses to the gig economy are, however, still in their early stages. No country as yet purports to have a 'solution' to the challenges posed. he term 'gig economy' was first coined as far back as 2009 to refer to people who, having lost traditional jobs in the financial crash, had turned to a variety of short-term, freelance roles to make a living. More recently the term has become associated with the use of internet-based technology platforms that claim to act as an online market place where potential customers are put in touch with freelance service-providers. An important question is whether such companies really are just putting customers in touch with independent service- providers, or whether they can be said to employ those who provide work through their online platforms. This has implications for labour market regulation across the world. Should those working in the gig economy have the same rights as employees, should they be treated as independent businesses like any other, or does the answer lie somewhere between the two? To see how the challenge of the gig economy is being met around the world, we gathered data from 40 different countries. It is clear that in many countries it is felt that the traditional model of what constitutes employment needs to be revisited in the light of the growth in gig work – although no country has so far found the optimum way forward. C O U N T R I E S TA K I N G PA R T I N O U R R E S E A R C H : Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and United States. T H E R I S E O F T H E G I G E C O N O M Y Should those working in the gig economy have the same rights as employees? An international perspective on employment in the gig economy T

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