Fairwork Germany Ratings 2025: The German Platform Economy in the Face of the EU Platform Directive

In Germany, platform-mediated labour has become an integral part of everyday life, particularly in food delivery, ride-hailing, and household services. Yet, the Fairwork Germany Ratings 2025 reveal that many platform workers continue to face unfair working conditions and remain without adequate social protections. These findings are particularly critical in the context of ongoing debates over the national transposition of the European Platform Work Directive, which could determine the future of labour rights in the platform economy. 

The third Fairwork report on Germany assesses digital labour platforms in the context of the country’s rapidly evolving socioeconomic and political landscape. The study evaluates seven of Germany’s most prominent digital labour platforms — Lieferando, Flink, Helpling, Uber, Bolt, Uber Eats, and Wolt — against Fairwork’s five principles: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation. The findings are based on desk research, evidence from online platforms, and interviews with workers. The 2025 Fairwork Germany Ratings indicate a concerning trend: working conditions have declined across all five principles compared to the previous years’ assessments. The findings call for the urgent need for policy action to ensure that digital labour platforms provide fair and decent work for all.