Dr Alessio Bertolini
Researcher
Alessio Bertolini is a Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute for the project FairWork, where he is investigating platform work in the UK and Germany.
The platform economy has found a fertile ground for growth in the UK, which has a relatively deregulated labour market, porous employment protections and weak collective representation rights. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in non-standard forms of employment, including zero-hour contracts, agency work and self-employment. Buttressed by rapid digitalisation and high internet connectivity among the general population, platform work has proliferated. Although precise figures are difficult to come by, the ONS estimated that in 2017 at least 4.4% of the UK population, or about 2.8 million people, worked in the platform economy. The COVID-19 crisis is likely to have accelerated this growth trend, with lockdown measures pushing many people into online shopping and remote working.
This report presents the first set of Fairwork ratings for the UK and establishes a baseline on the country’s platform economy that will be updated on a yearly basis. Eleven platforms in the ride-hailing, food delivery, courier and domestic services sectors were evaluated against the five principles of Fairwork – pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation – and given a score out of ten. The overall ratings suggest that much remains to be done to ensure minimum standards of fairness for UK-based platform workers, with the authors drawing attention to persistent gaps in worker protections and the need for stronger labour standards in the UK’s platform economy.
Details
Publication date:
June 2021
June 2021
Authors
Dr Matthew Cole
Former Research Associate
Matthew Cole was a Postdoctoral Researcher with Fairwork, investigating global platforms. His research interests include the political economy of technology and platforms, particularly the transformation of work.
Professor Mark Graham
Professor of Internet Geography
Mark Graham is an economic geographer. His research focuses on digital labour, the gig economy, and digital inequalities. He is the author, most recently, of The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction.
Srujana Katta
DPhil Student
Srujana is a doctoral student at the OII and a member of the Fairwork Project. Her research focusses on digital labour, migration, and resistance.
Dr Daniel Arubayi
Former Postdoctoral Researcher
Daniel Arubayi was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Fairwork, a global project based at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.
Dr Funda Ustek Spilda
Research Associate
Dr Funda Ustek-Spilda was a postdoctoral researcher and project manager on the Fairwork project at the Oxford Internet Institute.
Press Coverage
Amazon’s worker surveillance “leads to extreme stress and anxiety”
New Statesman, 04 November 2022
Academics have warned MPs that the use of connected tech in the workplace needs to be better regulated.
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FT, 28 March 2022
Chief executive Andrew Ellis credits “passion economy” for surging demand
If the gig economy won’t look after its workers, this government must
The Guardian, 17 February 2022
With the new employment bill, we have the chance to target unethical practices and level the playing field for both businesses and workers.
Fairwork
Fairwork highlights best and worst labour practices in the platform economy. Our goal is to show that better, and fairer, jobs are possible in the platform economy and low pay, precarity, and poor working conditions.