Platforms, Home Care, and the Limits of Formalisation: Evidence from the Netherlands

In this episode of The Origami Podcast, Wike Been (University of Groningen) discusses the role of digital platforms in the Dutch home care and household services sector. The conversation explores how the lack of formal sector recognition, widespread undeclared work, and fragmented regulation shape platform business models and labour conditions. Drawing on the Helpling court case, the episode highlights how platforms respond to legal pressure by shifting between employer-like roles and pure matchmaking models. While platforms are often presented as a solution to informality, the episode shows why their potential to improve working conditions and support regulation remains largely unrealised in practice.