The times, are they changing? : examining platform companies' chameleonic labour process as a response to the Spanish 'Ley Rider'

FERRAZ VIEIRA, Tiago Alexandre; MENDONÇA, Pedro

doi:10.1093/ser/mwae066

The times, are they changing? : examining platform companies' chameleonic labour process as a response to the Spanish 'Ley Rider'

dc.contributor.author	FERRAZ VIEIRA, Tiago Alexandre
dc.contributor.author	MENDONÇA, Pedro
dc.date.accessioned	2024-11-20T16:28:28Z
dc.date.available	2024-11-20T16:28:28Z
dc.date.issued	2024
dc.description	Published online: 01 November 2024	en
dc.description.abstract	This article investigates the effects of the Spanish initiative to deploy a universal presumption of employment relationship for all platform couriers (Ley Rider). Drawing from 36 semi-structured interviews and several non-participant observations in Spain, this article shows that the impact of this initiative has been positive but limited. The eradication of bogus self-employment is a positive development, as it allows workers to access safety nets such as social security and employment rights while preserving valued aspects of their employment model like flexible scheduling. However, this progress is undermined by the platforms' efforts to circumvent regulations through what we term a ‘chameleonic labour process’. Such chameleonic behaviour on the part of the platforms includes: outsourcing labour operations to other companies; maintaining the independent contractor model; and, condoning undocumented work. Despite some progress, workers continue to face insecurity and low wages across all platforms, albeit in varying degrees and in different forms.	en
dc.description.sponsorship	Tiago Vieira was supported by Fundaçao para a Ciência e Tecnologia I.P., under the grant SFRH/BD/151412/2021. His fieldwork expenses were covered by the European University Institute Mission Funding.	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.identifier.citation	Socio-economic review, 2024, OnlineFirst	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1093/ser/mwae066
dc.identifier.issn	1475-1461
dc.identifier.issn	1475-147X
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1814/77487
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.orcid.upload	true	*
dc.publisher	Oxford University Press	en
dc.relation.ispartof	Socio-economic review	en
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess	en
dc.rights.license	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	*
dc.title	The times, are they changing? : examining platform companies' chameleonic labour process as a response to the Spanish 'Ley Rider'	en
dc.type	Article	en
dspace.entity.type	Publication
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