A Critical Evaluation Of Aggregator Obligations And Social Security Funding For Gig And Platform Workers Under The Code On Social Security, 2020
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 19
- 1 min read
Vishnu Prasath V S., B.A LL.B. (Hons.), School of Law, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Tiruchirappalli.
ABSTRACT
The rapid spread of the gig and platform economy has fundamentally unsettled how we think about work and its legal protections. By replacing the conventional employer-employee relationship with an algorithmic architecture of so-called 'independent contractors' and 'partners,' platform companies have, for years, found ways to sidestep statutory welfare obligations. The Indian Parliament's response the Code on Social Security, 2020 (CoSS) marks a watershed moment: for the first time, gig and platform workers receive legal recognition and prospective social security entitlements. Yet recognition alone does not guarantee protection. This article critically examines the substantive obligations the Code imposes on aggregators and asks whether the financial architecture of the proposed Social Security Fund is genuinely viable. By scrutinising the statutory cap on aggregator contributions, the bureaucratic hurdles around worker registration, and the persistent ambiguity surrounding the employment relationship, this paper argues that while the CoSS lays a necessary foundation, its current funding calculus and administrative design risk leaving platform workers in continued precarity.
