Published On: August 27th 2025
Authored By: Karen Nair
VIT Chennai
Introduction
The rapid growth in digital platforms has led to a new economic revolution, creating several avenues for employment for those who need it. The gig economy thrives on the efforts of these people and acts as a cornerstone of the new era of digitalization. However, when it comes to labor law and maintaining the standards set by the ILO, one major concern arises: how can the gig worker be classified? This is a concern because they possess the two most widely accepted classifications of labourers, i.e, employee as well as an independent contractor. This article aims to dig deeper into this issue and provide insight into the same.
Who is a Gig Worker?
A gig worker can be classified as any worker who works outside of a traditional employer employee relationship, one of the most predominant of such worker would be platform workers, these workers find the work that they perform specifically through online platforms some examples of the same would be rideshare drivers, delivery personal, on-demand task workers, etc. The main issue when it comes to such workers as mentioned in the introduction is how they are classified because they can come under the broad definition of both an independent contractor as well as an employee and in each case the regulating statues will vastly different thus affecting the social welfare benefits that the will be able to avail
On one hand due to elements such as the flexible work hours, contractual nature of work and the degree of control that the platform has on the work performed it is very clear that they can be classified as an independent contractor, but in such as case it is very easy for the platform using such gig workers to ignore welfare statute such as the minimum vague act thus leading to exploitation.
On the other hand, it is also pertinent to note that the similarity between the nature of work between an employee and a gig worker is that the nature of work done by both is extremely similar, as they take part in paid work, contributing to the economy as well as the platform and upon being classified by as an employee yes it would prevent exploitation but it would also be a heaviy blow on the economy as this makes the increase the expenditure of the employer.
International Precedents
United States of America
Dynamax Operations West Inc. v. Supreme Court of Los Angeles
This judgment establishes the ‘ABC Test’, which lays down a set of conditions to prove that a worker is not an employee, and states the following
(A) The worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the
The performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact.
(B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business;
(C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade,
occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring[1]
The judgment also benefited several gig workers who were previously classified as independent contractors. But this judgment also faced severe backlash from huge businesses such as Uber, Lyft, and Instacart, citing reasons including a lack of stability and the absence of job security.
United Kingdom
Uber B.V. v. Aslam
In February 2020, the United Kingdom Supreme Court recognised Uber drivers as “workers” rather than independent contractors, entitling them to certain benefits and placing concomitant obligations on employers[2]. It is pertinent to note that, however, there is a significant difference between a worker and an employee as per the UK laws, i.e., employees have comprehensively structured rights, while in the case of a worker, the protection is not as significant.
The rationale behind the decision is that the sole reason for the existence of employment protection rights is to protect the workers who are put in a vulnerable position by their employers, and as such, given that when it comes to Uber drivers who have almost no negotiation power over their employment contract, the intention of the legistation is fulfilled
Austrila
Hollis v. Vabu
Establishes the Multi-factor test, differentiating an independent contractor from a worker based on the level of control exercised by the employer[3]. The court is of the opinion that merely a single factor can’t be considered to differentiate an employee from an independent contractor, but the relationship between the worker and the employer is to be considered as a whole. It emphasised various factors such as the degree of control, uniform, whether the worker is an integral part of the business, etc
Indian Context
India is currently on the verge of a labour revolution with the Indian Federation of app-based transport workers, who have filed a public interest litigation as of 2021, have been seek for social security benefits for gig workers, according to the PIL, the IFAT seeks such social security coverage by classifying gig workers as unorganised worker under the social security act of 2008[4][5]
Under the code on Social Security (SSC)defines a gig worker is defined as a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship.[6] Its is also to be noted that even thoug the SCC was brought up in 2020 it has no been implemented It is also to be noted that the provisions of the legislation as vague and confer power to the government to take action, it is also pertinent to note that the SSC is only one of 4 Labour codes, as such, leaving gig worker out of the protection granted to labourers granted in the other three codes
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made the problems faced by gig workers even worse. Companies that depend on gig workers were able to quickly change the number of people they hired based on the challenges caused by the pandemic. At the same time, getting essential goods through these platforms was considered ‘essential work’ and was allowed even during lockdowns. However, gig workers themselves did not get basic job protections. Because of these difficult conditions, many gig workers in India and around the world have become frustrated and unhappy, leading to protests, petitions, and strikes, even though it’s not always clear if these strikes are legal.
Currently, only the legislature of Rajistan has taken into consideration this issue by establishing the Rajistan Platform-Based Gig Workers Act.[7] This act has enforced various ideas to address the issues and concerns of gig workers. The establishment of a welfare board, as well as making registration of gig workers mandatory, is a major improvement when it comes to identifying the gig workers, and more initiatives like the social security and welfare fund and a grievance redressal mechanism have also been established. Being legislation that is the first of its kind, it can act as a template that their state legislatures can alter to fit their states’ requirements
Admittedly, the emergence of the gig worker and its related questions for labour law is not a new phenomenon, as there has been a gradual shift in the dependence on traditional models of work towards other “alternative work arrangements” such as contract labour and temporary workers. However, technology can arguably be said to have exacerbated this process, and though gig workers comprise only a small fraction of the labour population, they are nonetheless capable of constituting a hard case for testing the jurisprudence on employment relationships.
Conclusion
Platform-based work is a concept that is here to stay, and as such, addressing the concerns of the workers who are negatively affected by its implementation is of the utmost importance. The Rajistan Platform-Based Gig Workers Act is a great initiative taken up by the state, and is a concept that is to be implemented nationwide. The SCC of 2020 needs more alteration, and before its practical applicability, Gig workers need a more concrete definition, as the definition under Section 2 (35) is extremely broad and vague. Rights such as the right to form trade unions would be extremely valuable for gig workers, as a communal bargain is a very strong tool that can be used by them in order to improve their employee agreement, which they previously had no control over. When it comes to the recognition of gig workers as independent contractors, Multiple theorists propose a third kind of worker status they call “dependent contractors,” who “occupy a midway ground between the conventional employees and independent contractors.”. While the Social Security reform is a step in the right direction, it is not enough to safeguard the rights of the vast majority of gig workers. Stronger revisions and national adjustments to fill the loopholes in Indian law are necessary to safeguard gig workers. The concept of “employer” has to be expanded to account for those who are financially responsible for the social security of their employees. Under the legislative framework, certain restrictions can be placed on service aggregators, thereby ensuring rights against arbitrary terms of service and irregular remuneration. To ensure certainty to workers, employers can be forbidden from unilaterally suspending and firing employees from their services without warning.” Contracts for gig employment must have a clause for resolving disputes through the ADR mechanism, and a commission should be established to keep an eye on issues with gig workers, thereby ensuring holistic protection of gig workers’ rights in a viable manner.[8]
References
[1] Dynamex Operations West, Inc v Superior Court of Los Angeles (2018) 4 Cal 5th 903 (Supreme Court of California).
[2] Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5
[3] Hollis v Vabu Pty Ltd (2001) 207 CLR 21
[4] Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act 2008 (India)
[5] Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers v Union of India (PIL, pending as of 2021, specific citation unavailable without case number)
[6] Code on Social Security 2020 (India), s 2(35)
[7] Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act 2023 (India)
[8] (2022) hpnlu.ac.in. Available at: https://hpnlu.ac.in/journal-article.aspx?ref-id=22&article-id=398.
