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The concept of subordination serves as the key criterion for accessing social protection across civil law systems. Theoretically, subordination corresponds to what common law systems define — through multifactorial tests — as an employment (or service) contract, distinguishing it from self-employment. While this historic dichotomy is widely regarded as unsatisfactory and has long been questioned, the notion of subordination remains central to ensuring that workers receive the protection guaranteed under the labour law systems. Part I will address the problem of subordination as a fundamental legal category of labour law, rooted in contract law. Regardless of the complex legal origins of the regulatory concept of subordination and the subordinate status of employees, what I wish to emphasize here is the crisis surrounding this concept, i.e., that it no longer serves as an adequate foundation for the application of labour law protection. Part II addresses the presumption of an employment relationship. I argue that this presumption is an unsatisfactory methodological approach and that labour law should move beyond subordination as a necessary criterion for protection; only then can it ensure adequate social protection for all forms of personal work, regardless of whether they are classified as employment.
