Abstract
Gig work, where individuals are matched to short-term jobs on online platforms, has grown tremendously over the last decade. While there is some evidence that workers benefit from gig work, there have also been labour disputes in the gig work industry, especially around the legal relationship between gig work platforms and their workers. The practices of these platforms often run counter to well-established employment norms in aspects such as the division of labour, employee evaluation, and supervision structures. Countries have had different regulatory responses to these changes. This study examines the legal solutions to these disagreements in different countries and whether differences in labour laws affect the performance of gig platforms. We have systematically reviewed 99 articles on the law relating to the gig economy in the USA, the UK and China and combined the approach of comparative law to explore and collate the problems, legal solutions, and future trends in these three countries. At the same time, we analyse and compare the performance of platforms under different legal solutions through the available material, providing some ideas for future research directions.
