Autonomous subordination and technological subordination as new concepts of subordinate work – in search of a new regulatory model

Abstract The article presents considerations on employee subordination, analyzed from the autonomous and technological subordination perspective. The concept of autonomous subordination is already known in the case law and the Polish labour law doctrine. The idea of autonomous subordination was formulated by the Supreme Court in the judgment of September 7, 1999, I PKN 277/99 and was maintained in the Supreme Court's case law for years to come. Technological subordination, on the other hand, is an entirely new global phenomenon originating from algorithmic management. For the purposes of this article, it is assumed that technological subordination- also referred to (with some necessary simplification) as algorithmic subordination – means that, thanks to the latest technologies and appropriate algorithms, employers have acquired entirely new and previously unknown tools for exercising authoritative influence over employees. The article's authors attempted to examine how employee subordination is currently shaped, considering autonomous subordination and technological (algorithmic) subordination, and to determine whether these two concepts of subordination can coexist or are opposed to each other. Conducting in-depth analyses in the outlined research area (also beyond the scope of this text) is important for several reasons. Firstly, there is a lack of clear regulations about employee subordination as the most important structural feature of the employment relationship. Secondly, the understanding of employee subordination changes due to dynamic socio-economic changes. Thirdly, due to the fact that the concepts of autonomous subordination as well as technological subordination can be considered not only in employment relationships, but also in non employment work relationships. In the summary of the conducted research, the article's authors included de lege lata conclusions and proposed considering the introduction to the Polish Labour Code of an intermediate category between an employment relationship and non-employment civil-law work.

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