The DCCA accepts commitments from a digital platform to remove a mandatory minimum hourly fee for regular cleaning services from providers on the platform

The providers of cleaning services using Hilfr are divided into two types: “Freelancehilfrs” and “Superhilfrs”. The latter is covered by a collective agreement with a Danish trade union called 3F. Both types of providers were initially subject to a minimum hourly fee. The decisive element in the case was the assessment of whether the two types of providers on Hilfr were to be considered as employees of Hilfr or undertakings, as the conclusion on this matter determined whether competition law applied to them.

The DCCA concluded that both Hilfr and Freelancehilfrs/Superhilfrs are undertakings, and that Freelancehilfrs/Superhilfrs, most likely, are not employees of Hilfr from a competition law point of view. Consequently, the DCCA concluded that Hilfr was subject to competition law.

Based on the commitments from Hilfr to 1) terminate their use of the minimum hourly fee for Freelancehilfrs and 2) to ensure that Superhilfrs are employees in relation to competition law, the DCCA has issued a commitment decision making said commitments binding. This is because the commitments made by Hilfr removed the risk of creating a “price floor” which could have limited the competition between the providers of cleaning services.

For more information, please refer to the decision of 26^th August 2020 from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority available in Danish here, or a shorter version available in English here.

For more information please contact Morten Nissen or Frederik Haugsted.