The EU’s Platform Work Directive, adopted in October 2024, introduces a legal presumption that platform workers are employees when a platform directs and controls their work, and new rules on algorithmic management. Member states must transpose it by 2 December 2026. In Georgia, delivery couriers for Glovo, Wolt and Bolt Food work as “individual entrepreneurs” outside labour law — and have repeatedly gone on strike. This analysis sets out what the directive does and what it would mean for Georgia’s gig economy.
Key Findings
- Directive (EU) 2024/2831 was adopted on 23 October 2024, entered into force on 1 December 2024, and must be transposed by 2 December 2026 (Ius Laboris; ETUC, 2026).
- It creates a rebuttable presumption of employment where facts indicate direction and control by a platform; to rebut it, the platform must prove there is no employment relationship (Ius Laboris).
- It requires transparency, human oversight and accountability in algorithmic management, and restricts processing of certain personal data (Ius Laboris; CMS).
- In Georgia, delivery couriers for Wolt, Glovo and Bolt Food went on strike in December 2020, January 2021 and March 2021 respectively; more than 100 workers turned off their apps (FES, 2023; HRW, 2021).
- In 2020, after a courier traffic accident, the Labour Inspectorate inspected and fined Glovo for safety violations; in 2021 the Prosecutor’s Office affirmed that Glovo couriers have a labour relationship with the company (FES, 2023; HRW, 2021).
1. Introduction
Platform work — work organised through digital apps such as food delivery and ride-hailing — expanded rapidly in Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in Tbilisi. Glovo, Bolt, Bolt Food, Wolt and Yandex Taxi are among the most-used on-location platforms (FES, 2023). Most platform workers are classified as self-employed, placing them outside the protections of the Labour Code. The EU has now legislated to address the same problem in member states. This analysis asks what Georgia can learn as an EU candidate.
2. The EU Directive
| Element | Content |
|---|---|
| Presumption of employment | Rebuttable presumption where facts indicate direction and control; burden on the platform to rebut |
| Algorithmic management | Transparency, fairness, human oversight, safety and accountability |
| Data protection | Restrictions on processing certain categories of personal data, including when the worker is not working |
| Declaration of work | Platforms must declare work performed to competent authorities |
| Scope | All platforms organising work in the EU, wherever established |
| Timeline | Adopted 23 Oct 2024; in force 1 Dec 2024; transposition by 2 Dec 2026 |
Sources: Ius Laboris; CMS; Cuatrecasas; Lexgo; ETUC (2026).
3. Platform Work in Georgia
Georgian couriers’ complaints have centred on unilateral cuts to pay and bonus terms: in January 2021 Glovo reduced its per-kilometre rate from GEL 0.40 to 0.30 (openDemocracy, 2021), and reaching its top weekly bonus required 180 orders — about 90 hours of work at two orders an hour (HRW, 2021). Couriers who joined later strikes reported being blocked from the app; Glovo said it reached agreement to restore access, and couriers announced plans to form a trade union for gig workers (OC Media, 2021). Human Rights Watch called on the Labour Inspectorate to prioritise systematic and regular inspections of delivery companies (HRW, 2021).
4. Discussion
Argument: Georgia faces the same classification problem
The core issue the directive addresses — workers who are formally self-employed but whose work is directed and controlled by an algorithm — is exactly the issue Georgian couriers have raised. Georgian law has no presumption of employment and no rules on algorithmic management, and the 2020 Labour Code reform did not refer to platform work (FES, 2023).
Counter-argument: flexibility and income opportunities
Platforms provide flexible income in an economy with high unemployment, and many workers value the ability to choose their hours. The EU directive does not abolish self-employment: the presumption is rebuttable, and genuinely independent workers remain self-employed. The question is whether workers who are controlled like employees receive employees’ basic protections.
Tax regimes reinforce the model
Georgia’s small-business tax regimes make “individual entrepreneur” status attractive for platforms and couriers alike (see GILS analysis of the small-business tax cliff). Any reform of platform work will need to address tax incentives as well as labour law.
5. Conclusion
The EU has set a clear direction for platform work: a presumption of employment, algorithmic transparency and data protection. Georgia’s couriers have faced precisely the problems the directive addresses. As an EU candidate, Georgia can prepare now — before the platform economy grows further.
GILS Recommendations
- Introduce a rebuttable presumption of employment for platform work, modelled on the EU directive.
- Regulate algorithmic management: transparency of pay and allocation rules, human review of account deactivations.
- Require platforms to report the number of workers and hours worked to the authorities.
- Prioritise platform work in Labour Inspection Service planning, including road safety for couriers.
- Collect statistics on platform work through the Labour Force Survey.
GILS Position
An app is not a reason to strip workers of protection. GILS supports aligning Georgia’s rules on platform work with the EU directive, preserving genuine self-employment while protecting workers who are controlled like employees.
References
- Human Rights Watch (2021). App-Based Jobs Emerge as Battleground for Workplace Safety in Georgia. 20 April 2021. hrw.org
- openDemocracy (2021). In Tbilisi, delivery drivers learn their power lies in stopping work. opendemocracy.net
- Ius Laboris (n.d.). EU Platform Work Directive: which countries have implemented? iuslaboris.com
- ETUC (2026). Transposing the Platform Work Directive: trade union manual. etuc.org
- CMS (n.d.). From gig to guarantee: how the EU is transforming platform work. cms.law
- OC Media (2021). Report on Glovo couriers’ strike and plans for a gig-economy trade union. oc-media.org
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2023). Georgia: Online Platforms and Platform Work. FES Competence Centre on the Future of Work, January 2023. fes.de
Suggested citation: GILS Research Team (2026). The EU Platform Work Directive and Georgia’s Gig Economy. Editor: G. Pkhakadze. Georgian Institute of Labour Studies, Tbilisi. labour.edu.ge
GILS analyses are prepared with AI-assisted drafting. All figures and claims are verified against the cited primary sources and reviewed under the responsibility of the Editor.
This analysis is also published in GMJ News — Work & Health, the news service of the Georgian Medical Journal.