The platformisation of home care

Short description: This Policy Brief has been developed as part of the ORIGAMI Project (hOme caRe  dIGital Platform and Industrial relations), funded by the European Commission and implemented by a consortium of academic institutions across six Member States and  two  Brussels-based organisations, namely the European Social Observatory (OSE) and the European Confederation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (CECOP).

The Policy Brief is structured as  follows. Section 1 sets  the scene and describes  the challenges, trends and perspectives relevant to the home care sector in the EU. Section 2  introduces  the  EU  Care  Framework,  i.e.  the  European  Care  Strategy  and  2022  Council  Recommendation, and  its interrelation with  national  practices. Section  3 presents the core of the Brief, examining how digital labour platforms are transforming home care and  domestic work, offering flexibility but also increasing precarity in several cases. Section  4 reviews  the Platform Work Directive – its rules on employment status, algorithmic  management,  and collective  rights – and its potential  impact  on  care  and  domestic  platform workers. Section 5 discusses platform cooperatives as fairer alternatives. The final section outlines policy reflections and recommendations, highlighting avenues for  strengthening consistency between the EU’s digital and social policy frameworks.