Proposed law could give Lithuanian platform workers more rights and social protections

Lithuania’s parliament, Seimas, is considering changes to labour law that could improve working conditions, increase social protections and make pay and management decisions more transparent for thousands of drivers and couriers working through digital platforms such as Bolt, Wolt and Uber.

Around one in 10 workers in Lithuania are couriers or ride-hailing drivers providing services through such platforms. For many, the work offers a way to earn additional income, but workers say declining pay and opaque payment systems have become major concerns.

Indresh, who has lived in Lithuania for six years, said platform companies initially offered attractive pay during the Covid-19 pandemic to recruit workers but gradually found more ways to reduce earnings.

“One of the biggest problems is that there is no clear system for determining pay,” said Linas Mazgeika, head of the Platform Workers’ Trade Union.

“There is no legal agreement on specific remuneration. Whether it is payment for a particular task or an hourly rate, there is no such agreement. Platforms have the ability to regulate this issue unilaterally,” he said.

Drivers also say they can face penalties for rejecting orders. Algorithmic decisions may result in drivers receiving fewer orders for a period, reducing their income.

Platform workers have little insight into how the algorithms operate, said labour law expert Emilija Švobaitė. Automated systems can make decisions such as restricting an account, she said, potentially leaving workers without assignments.

“In terms of traditional labour law, this could be equivalent to downtime,” Švobaitė said.

Platform workers are generally classified as self-employed. But when a platform, rather than the worker, controls key decisions, the arrangement may show signs of an employment relationship or subordination, she said. Several ride-hailing drivers have taken their cases to court.

“Everyone driving for Bolt felt like an employee, but had absolutely no social guarantees,” said driver Donatas Čyžius. He said drivers consulted lawyers who concluded that the arrangements could involve disguised employment relationships, prompting initiatives to change the law.

The parliament has begun considering amendments to the Labour Code.

“The goal is to ensure that workers know exactly the conditions under which they work, what is required of them, and why they receive some orders but not others,” said Tadas Vinokuras, deputy social security and labour minister.

“We want the platform work process to be transparent and workers not to be unfairly penalised, for example, for refusing an order,” he said.

Under the proposed changes, authorities would assess whether workers can independently choose their working hours, the volume of orders they accept and the prices of their services, or whether those conditions are controlled by the platform. The actual circumstances of the work would help determine whether an employment relationship exists.

“People are looking for flexible working conditions and find a platform where they can work. But you cannot say that they are entrepreneurs,” Vinokuras said. “They work and should have certain guarantees. We need to distinguish more clearly between self-employment and work under an employment contract.”

The amendments would transpose the European Union’s Platform Work Directive into Lithuanian law. They would also allow platform workers to bring disputes before the Labour Disputes Commission, a route that has not been available to many because digital platforms are registered outside Lithuania.

Implementing the changes will pose challenges, particularly when it comes to representing people who are not formally classified as employees, said Tomas Tomilinas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs and Labour.

“Transposing these provisions will not be easy, because it is especially difficult to represent those who formally are not employees and do not have an employment relationship,” he said. “But we will look for ways to ensure that people are genuinely represented.”

Parliamentary consideration of the amendments is expected to continue in November. Lithuania must implement the EU directive by December.