Digital Intermediaries in Domestic and Care Work

Author: Lorena Poblete; Eva Kocher
Publisher: Hart Publishing
ISBN: 9781509990856
Published In: July 2026
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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This edited collection unravels the multiple ways in which digital intermediaries have transformed the domestic and care work sector - and what this development entails for the regulation of digital labour platforms.

Domestic and care work is work like any other - but also work like no other. As a consequence, digital intermediaries in these sectors fulfil partly different functions than other digital labour platforms. Taking a comparative and interdisciplinary socio-legal approach, the book is organised into four parts. The first section describes the different business models used in various geographical areas and analyses the ways in which digital intermediaries reshape these markets. The second section examines how digital intermediaries adapt their structures and organisations to regulatory and institutional frameworks, while also exploiting regulatory gaps and grey zones. The third part of the book highlights the experiences of domestic workers who develop novel forms of platform cooperatives with the potential for better working conditions and a stronger voice. The fourth part of the books looks at the legal and regulatory challenges, discussing the challenge of classifying digital intermediation in care and domestic work not only in relation to employment/self-employment, but also in relation to the third party in the triangular relationship: the private household. The book analyses cases from South and Central Europe, Southeast Europe, the UK, South Africa and Latin America; its interdisciplinary approach, with sociological, anthropological and legal perspectives make the book an important reference in this emerging field of study.

Introduction, Lorena Poblete (CONICET Universidad Nacional de San Martin, Argentina) and Eva Kocher (European University Viadrina, Germany)

Part I: Emerging Models at National Level

1. The Emergence of Platforms in Care and Domestic Services in Spain: An Exploration of their Business and Growth Models, Paula Rodriguez-Modrono (Pablo de Olavide University, Spain)

2. Between Formal and Informal Work? Analysing Insertion Strategies of Digital Platforms in the French Domestic Services Market, Nicole Teke-Laurent (Nanterre University, France)

3. Peer-to-Peer Precarity: The Role of Multi-Service Platforms in Shaping Wages and Working Conditions in Belgium, Mat Johnson (Alliance Manchester Business School, UK), Valeria Pulignano, Claudia Mara and Milena Franke ((KU Leuven, Belgium)

Part II: Adaptations to Legal Frameworks from a Comparative Perspective

4. Business as Usual? Strategic Adaptation and Effects on Labour Formalisation in Domestic Work Platforms in Southeast Europe, Jelena Starcevic (Cornell University, USA)

5. Within and Without the Margins of the Law. Digital Intermediaries in Domestic Work in Latin America, Lorena Poblete (Universidad Nacional de San Martin, Peru)

6. Care Regimes and Industrial Relations: A Comparison of the Factors Shaping the Emergence of Digital Platforms in the Domestic Sector in Ireland and Italy, Ivana Pais (Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy), Caroline Murphy and Tish Gibbons ((University of Limerick, Ireland)

Part III: An Alternative Model: Workers' Cooperatives

7. Towards Transition from an Academic Project to WeCare Workers Enterprise: Lessons from the Digital Platform Cooperative Project (DPCP), South Africa, Abigail Osiki (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)

8. Giving Cleaning Work the Value it Deserves: The Potential of Platform Cooperatives to Advance Fair Work and Self-Determination, Joanna Bronowicka (European University Viadrina, Germany), Barbara Orth (University of Bern, Switzerland) and Sabri Schumacher (Autonomia, Switzerland)

Part IV: Regulating Digital Intermediaries in Europe

9. Domestic Platform Work as a Multiparty Relationship: Regulatory Loopholes and Ways to Address Them, Christina Hiessl (KU Leuven, Belgium)

10. Legal Models of Labour Intermediaries and Digital Care Platforms, Luca Ratti (University of Luxembourg)

11. House of Gigs: Domestic Workers, Algorithmic Management and the Platform Work Directive, Antonio Aloisi (IE University Law School, Spain) and Nastazja Potocka-Sionek (University of Luxembourg)

12. Platform Domestic and Childcare Work: Centring Labour Rights in the Formalisation Debate, Natalie Sedacca (University of Durham, UK) and Joe Atkinson (University of Southampton, UK)