Labour market regulation 4.0: Protecting workers in a changing world of work

This chapter discusses the role of labour market regulations to adequately protect workers in a changing world of work. A key focus of the chapter is on employment status – a critical area because it acts as a gateway to various worker rights and protections. Ensuring the correct classification of workers is therefore a key first step to ensure access to labour and social protection, collective bargaining and lifelong learning. For some workers, however, there is genuine ambiguity about employment status as they find themselves somewhere in the “grey zone” between dependent and self‑employment. While arguing that this grey zone should be kept as small as possible, the chapter examines the rationale and policy options for extending certain labour rights and protections to these workers. Finally, the chapter discusses the role of regulations in addressing abuses of monopsony power and rebalancing bargaining power between employers/clients and workers.