Digitalization of labor: legal and economic frameworks of development

Abstract

Nowadays, digitalization is a process that affects absolutely all directions of human life, changing it significantly. It’s difficult to imagine our current life without implementation of modern advanced technologies. Creation and implementation of information technologies are used as indicators to evaluate the level and quality of a country's economy and society development. Impact of digital technology development on the economy and on the labour market tendencies is examined in the paper. It’s determined a significant part of Ukraine's economy is developing illegally. On the one hand, the gig economy fosters economic development in the country, but at the same time, it partly provides the development of the illegal – shadow economy. The economic nature of freelance from the legal point of view is analyzed. Different and the most relevant legal forms of labour performance of freelancers are defined in the academic work. The main disadvantages of freelance compared to legal employment are described in the paper. Based on the comparison of the average monthly wage and average monthly income of freelancers, conclusions describe the crucial reasons for freelance development in Ukraine, especially among young people. The current draft bills in the field of labour law in the context of digitalization are analyzed, their positive and negative statements for improving the social and economic freelancers’ welfare are identified. The conclusions determine options related to the improvement of economic and legal policies in order to condemn shadow employment and to ensure proper legal protection for freelancers in Ukraine. The importance of proper labour law is emphasized in the paper. The necessity of legal employment as an opportunity to prevent unfair relationships with the employer is described.