WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE IN NIGERIA'S PLATFORM ECONOMY? A FUNCTIONAL REAPPRAISAL OF LABOUR CLASSIFICATION

Abstract

The expansion of platform-mediated transport, delivery and related digital labour in Nigeria has exposed a classification problem that traditional labour doctrine can no longer treat as marginal. Platforms commonly describe drivers and riders as independent contractors, yet they set prices, control access to demand, impose rating systems, monitor performance and deactivate accounts. This article reappraises employee status in Nigeria's platform economy through doctrinal and comparative analysis. It argues that the central problem is not the absence of legal tools, but the insufficient adaptation of existing tests to digital control and economic dependence. The Labour Act's narrow definition of worker, the common law distinction between a contract of service and a contract for services, and Nigerian case law on control and economic reality remain relevant, but they require purposive application. Drawing on the United Kingdom, South Africa, Directive (EU) 2024/2831 and the contrasting United States experience, the article proposes a functional test built around personal service, platform-set terms, algorithmic control, economic dependence and practical integration. It recommends judicial recognition of algorithmic control, a statutory rebuttable presumption of employment, wider statutory definitions, and minimum standards for transparency and contestability in automated platform decisions. The article concludes that Nigerian labour law can protect platform workers without suppressing genuine entrepreneurial work, provided classification turns on legal substance rather than contractual description.