Digital platforms and new forms of collaborative economy have spread in our country and have come to stay, together with the impact that this generates both in traditional companies and new ways of working.

This was expressed during the conference on collaborative economics, organized by Andersen Tax & Legal together with Estudio de Comunicación, with the participation of the partners of Andersen Tax & Legal Alfredo Aspra and Gonzalo Cerón, Rocío Vivo, senior associate of the firm, the lawyers of UGT Manuel de la Rocha and Bernardo Rodríguez, and Charo Gomez, partner of Estudio de Comunicación.

During the event, the benefits of this new economy, the social impact it entails and the regulation that must be proposed for these new business models, as well as their irruption in the market, which poses labor problems that are generating public controversy and political debates, were highlighted.

One of the debates that arose during the day is whether workers on these platforms should be considered as employees or self-employed.

On this point, companies argue that workers should be self-employed, as they set their own hours and are the owners of the tools necessary to carry out their activity, such as the smartphone, the transport vehicle and the equipment.

On the contrary, the workers denounce that these collaborative companies gain competitiveness "at the cost of exploiting" their workers and maintain that "the system itself facilitates this precarious situation". Thus, they asserted that "we are gambling with a fundamental element of the social State, which is the protection of the workers".

Alfredo Aspra, head of Andersen Tax & Legal's labour department, stressed the need for a regulation that is clear on the matter, "the great doubt that the courts have to clear is whether the mere fact that the digital platform of the orders is owned by a company determines the labour for the deliverers and not their status as freelancers."

For his part, Gonzalo Cerón explained the commercial and financial structure that prevails in these platforms and the need for a clear rule that avoids competition problems that may arise in the performance of collaborative activities.

You could read the article in Merca2.