New EU Regulation Poses a Threat to the CEP and E-commerce Sectors

Experts Call for Sensible Implementation of the Digital Labour Platforms Directive

The European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2024/2831 entered into force on 1 December 2024. This so-called Platform Work Directive aims to improve working conditions for people employed via digital labour platforms. The directive assumes the existence of an employment relationship between the platform and the service provider, ensuring workers access to their employment rights. The criteria justifying this presumption will be determined individually by each EU member state, which has two years to implement the measure.

Digital labour platforms are typically associated with services such as food delivery, ride-hailing, or cleaning. In the public discourse, there have been concerns about the possible expansion of the directive’s application to entities that are not digital labour platforms – far beyond the content of the directive and the original intent of the European Commission.

According to the published report "The CEP Sector in Poland – Threats Related to the Implementation of the Digital Labour Platforms Directive", applying these regulations in Poland carries the risk of inappropriately including CEP operators who do not operate as digital platforms in the sense intended by the directive.

The directive was created with entities in mind that organize work through the use of algorithms. The CEP sector operates under a completely different model – these are companies that rely on extensive logistical infrastructure, clearly defined regulations, and state oversight.
– emphasizes the report’s author, Professor Arkadiusz Kawa from the Poznań University of Economics.

Risk of Market Destabilization

CEP operators cooperate with independent carriers and subcontractors who own their vehicles and organize their work autonomously and flexibly. Imposing an obligation on these companies to employ couriers under employment contracts would not only restrict their freedom to conduct business but would also generate enormous costs and organizational challenges.

Implementing the directive's provisions in relation to the CEP sector would be a legislative error with potentially serious consequences for the market. Such a move would require a complete overhaul of the operational model, significant investment costs, and a potential reduction in operational flexibility – which would directly impact service availability and pricing. This is not what independent carriers – who value the flexibility of their work – expect, nor what consumers want, as they would face price increases. Including the CEP sector under this directive would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
– says Wojciech Arszewski, President of the Express Carriers Forum.

According to the report, courier service prices could rise by at least 25% due to increased labour costs alone – and up to 40% when factoring in the purchase, maintenance, and operation of vehicles, as well as the cost of non-performance during absences. These increased costs would directly affect the e-commerce sector and, consequently, consumers.

In 2024 alone, the cost of adapting legal regulations in the Polish e-commerce sector was estimated by the Chamber of Electronic Economy at over PLN 55 billion. This is equivalent to around 6% of the total annual value of sales (B2B and B2C) in the sector. Additional burdens may weaken the competitive position of Polish companies in the European market and deal another blow to many small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of the Polish economy.
– warns Arkadiusz Kawa.

Call for Legislative Prudence

The so-called Platform Work Directive should be implemented in line with its original purpose and true scope. The report includes specific recommendations, including: limiting the application of the directive solely to entities functioning as digital labour platforms; taking into account the existing national and EU legal frameworks governing the CEP sector; and exempting CEP operators and their partner carriers from the regulation.

We naturally want new regulations to be effective, appropriate, and tailored to the specifics of the CEP sector. However, there is no justification for the provisions of the Directive to be transposed into national law in a way that includes the CEP sector. This is mainly because the operations carried out by postal operators, carriers, and freight forwarders fundamentally differ from those of digital labour platforms and are already comprehensively regulated – under international, EU, and national law.
– concludes Wojciech Arszewski.

The full and summary versions of the report are available via the provided link (Polish language).

Source: Forum Przewoźników Ekspresowych