The world of work is changing rapidly. Employment is no longer confined to permanent employees, fixed-term employees, contract labour, apprentices, consultants and retainers. A new category has entered the labour market with remarkable speed: the gig worker. The food delivery executive, cab driver attached to a digital platform, home-service technician, freelance designer, online tutor, content creator and task-based professional are all part of this new work ecosystem.This is where the Labour Codes respond to this changing reality by recognising gig and platform workers and placing them within the protective framework of the Code on Social Security, 2020. The Code does not convert gig workers into regular employees. But it recognises them as a distinct class requiring social security protection. In the codes, such recognition itself is an important beginning.
Definition of Gig Worker
Section 2(35) of the Social Security Code defines a “gig worker” as a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such...
