Self-Employment and Economic Dependency in the Light of the Social Contract Law

In the last decade, the evolution of the law relating to the self-employment contract has gradually permitted the insertion of social thinking into the law of contract and obligation. This has occurred, in particular, through the definition of the concept of ‘economic dependency’, which in turn has led to a rediscovery of the social long-term and personal dimension of self-employment contractual relationships. The development of the concept of economic dependency and the subsequent attribution of a certain number of social contractual rights to economically dependent workers might be seen as having two aspects. On the one hand, it supports the social contract law view, which is that, by rediscovering the time and the personal dimensions of work, contractual relationships may be differentiated from the standard sales model, and social and redistributive justice thinking can be inserted into contract law. On the other hand, it helps to carve out a new dimension for labour law. This new labour law dimension or perspective should be detached for the first time from the concept of ‘power’, ‘subordination’ and ‘inequality of bargaining power’ and linked to the concept of ‘life time’, ‘personal work’ and dignity.